Taking a look at the West

The NBA season is just days away, so it’s time we look at the Western Conference and see if we can figure out how it’s going to shape up. Last season, the top eight teams in the West were Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Antonio, Utah, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas and Denver. While all of these teams are still supremely talented, the West was so competitive last season that we can’t just assume they will all make the playoffs again.

The Lakers are the defending conference champs and since they get a presumably healthy Andrew Bynum back this season, that makes them the favorites. However, he and his agent are looking for a max contract extension – even though he really hasn’t done anything to deserve it. We’ll have to wait to see how that affects his play.

The Hornets still have Chris Paul, and since he’s arguably the best point guard in the league, that means they’ll be a force. The Spurs are getting old, but it is an odd-numbered season so they should probably win it all. Utah is bringing back Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, but Jerry Sloan is “always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” so I wouldn’t expect them to come out of the West. Houston can’t seem to get out of the first round since they have an always-ailing Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming as its 1-2 punch, and one of the two is always punched out. There’s really nothing Dallas can do short of winning it all to impress me at this point. They’re soft, but maybe Rick Carlisle will change that. Phoenix has an aging Steve Nash alongside an aging and habitually overweight Shaq. Let’s be honest, their window closed last season. Denver traded away Marcus Camby, who was the only player interested in playing defense on that team. But, in all fairness to them, it’s not like his efforts were all that effective anyway.

The only team in the West that could potentially replace one of these teams in the playoffs is Portland, but while the Blazers are extremely talented, they’re also extremely young. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the West is won.

C.C. can be reached at cfelicec@yahoo.com.