Did [Team X] get better? SW Division

So...I was looking at the Western Conference Predictions thread and kind of got lost in trying to remember who had done what, acquired who and lost which players. So I started to look at a couple of the teams that weren't predicted to go in the top 8-10 (playoff contenders).

Then I decided I might as well look at each team. Then I decided to make a thread for each division. Weigh in with your opinions of these teams...most of the playoff predictions so far involve the exact same teams who made the playoffs last year. Not very daring, and not very likely. Some team, maybe two of them, are going to make the playoffs out of the also-ran ranks. A couple of teams that were successful last year are going to drop hard. Who will it be?

(Suns moved to correct division thread)

30-52. Better if they sign/trade/purloin/kidnap an upgrade at SG and Beasley really takes off. Worse if the losing starts to grind 'em down.

(moved to Pacific Division derrr...)

(Dang. Just realized I mis-titled the thread, started with Phoenix from the Pacific Division, now actually DOING the SW Division. So forget the Suns. They will not win the Southwest Division)

Everybody likes the Grizzlies and I don't really see why...but maybe I'm wrong...

PG-Conley, who has gotten better. Decent depth (Pargo, Bayless, Wroten, Selby, Agent Zero)
SG-Tony Allen should get most of the minutes, great defensive player. Bayless and Arenas backing him up?? Not too deep.
SF-Rudy Gay. Very good player. Consistent production. They've got Quincy Pondexter backing him up and...nobody else listed as SF.
PF/C-the min-twin-towers, Randolph and Gasol. Tough to outplay those two on the front line. Baked by Arthur, Cunningham and Speights.

Yeah, I can see them winning a lot of games, but...but...they have the opposite of the Kings roster, they have no wing players at all. How can this not be a problem for them? They have EIGHT players 6'5" and under and a whole bunch of PF/C types and that's it.

I think it bites 'em in the ass this year.

45-37 and out of the playoffs.

The Grizz and Kings are relatively easy to read. The Mavericks? Not so much.

After all, they only added Elton Brand, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman, Dahntay Jones and OJ Mayo. Isn't that a complete starting lineup, PG through Center?? A terrible, losing starting lineup but still. For a team that was ridiculed for not getting what they planned for this offseason, they at least got SOMETHING, didn't they.

Also 3 rookies including Jae Crowder, who has, by all accounts, looked pretty good.

And they already had Beaubois, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Dirk and Brandan Wright. And Delonte West.

So this is just a lot of questions...How much do Brand, Carter, Marion have left in the tank?? How much of a downgrade is Beaubois/Collison from Kidd/Barea of a couple years ago? Is a Dirk/Kaman/Brand PF/C rotation more reputation than effectiveness?

I don't think it works. This was just a lot of desperation moves and I don't think this team scares anybody anymore 44-38 and it will be a stuggle. And out of the playoffs. (This is barring any huge Mark Cuban mid-season moves. Which could happen if the team struggles.)

Rebuilding and still got a ways to go.

SG-Gordon. Doesn't really want to be there.

PG-Rivers/General Greivous Vasquez. They could use the guy from teh Star Wars prequel. Though it will be entertaining to see what happens when Rivers directs some of his "swag" at D-Will, or CP3 or Rondo. Not a strong position at this time.

SF-Umm...Aminu? Bueller? Anybody?

PF-Anthony Davis!! Woo-hoo! Superstar in the making!!

C-Jason Smith. Who might be a decent scorer if he can stay healthy.

They also got Ryan Anderson, great signing, too bad he's not on a better team.

They have a bunch of other players too. One of them is Brad Miller, who still has a contract despite the fact that he retired two years ago and hasn't been seen since*.

I forsee dysfunction, losing, a dearth of team play, more losing, nagging injuries,the "we really want to be careful with this kind of thing and not bring him back until we're sure he's 100%" kind.

24-58 and at least one sideline shot of Austin Rivers actually crying.

*-this is a patented "Amuse-O-Fact" and not really an actual "true" type fact.

Saving the best for last, this disgustingly well-put-together juggernaut will not be derailed by a years' aging on Duncan, Ginobili and Parker.

Actually, only Duncan has really shown a substantial physical decline. Ginobili might not be quite the whirling dervish he was a few years ago, but he's still pretty damn dervishish, and Parker is getting better and better.

So there's the big 3.

PG is backed by Patty Mills, Gary Neal and a guy named Nando de Colo.

For the minutes at SG/SF that Manu doesn't take they'll just have to make do with D. Green, Kawhi Leonard, and Steven Jackson with Boris Diaw able to play against the rare non-scoring SFs.

At C/PF, when Duncan's minutes will be reduced even further, they've got Diaw, who can be terrific, 3pt specialist Matt Bonner, DaJuan Blair and the ridiculously productive* Tiago Splitter, who is becoming a kind of Super Scola...he's big, athletic and knows how to play.

Of course, the jury's still out on this Popovich guy. Who knows if he'll be able to blend this mix of talents into a successful regular season. Heh.

58-24, first place in teh SW division.

*-his per-36 is like 18 and 10 with 1.5 blocks.

Okay, I can't be convinced Daryl Morey isn't a smart guy. I've heard him talk and it's clear he really IS very smart. Even if he were to stuff habanero peppers with lit firecrackers in them into each nostril while chugging Everclear and walking on hot coals, I wouldn't think he wasn't smart.

And that's kind of how the offseason has gone for the Rockets so far.

They got Jeremy Lin and will pay him $14mill in 14/15.
They got Omer Asic and will pay him $14mill in 14/15.
They traded Courtney Lee in an 8-player trade that only had one player in it. (netting, I am not kidding you, "JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams and a second-round pick")
They got a draft pick for Kyle Lowry.
They got nothin' for Goran Dragic.
They got nothin' for Luis Scola.
They whiffed on Dwight Howard.
They whiffed on Eric Gordon.

Then the firecrackers went off. Before they could trade Kevin Martin for an expiring contract and a trade exception. But that will probably happen.

I'm sure Morey has more moves to make, but it's really starting to look like the Rockets are already planning to draft Andrew Luck.

21-61. Probably last place in the West. The 21 may be generrous.

Bravo on the star wars reference. Thumbs down on the Grizz and Mavs not making the playoffs. Mavs lost Terry, ouch, but Brand and Kaman and (hate to admit it) Dirk, still can play some ball. Dirk has a streak in him like a wolverine that just ate tabasco sauce while watching his girlfriend get taken from him by a golden retreiver. Beaubois will be very effective once he realizes he has a 2nd and 3rd gear instead of pedal-to-the-floor mentality, which has served him well at times regardless.

Grizz- they just play tough-nosed, get-er-done, I-don't-care-if-we're-not-stars-but-we-believe-in-each-other-more-than-Archie Bunker- and ......Edith (was that her name).. believe-in-each-other-despite-their/our-differences, mentality.

The Grizz are the couple that worked it out despite them being unrealistic about their future. They've had, and will continue to have, success as long as they go on the court and say "BS to the nay-sayers, we're happy damnit, and we're gonna prove it."

The Rockets and Hornets screwed the pooch and won't admit that it was an aweful move.

I just despise the Spurs more than Bobby Bushay (or however you spell his name) despises gatorade. I hope Duncan gets blocked on every single shot of his 10 mil dollar a yr new contract (which is a reasonable price despite his declining talents) and cries he was fouled while Parker gets dunked on more than he dunk on others while his marital vows ink was still drying on the paper.

P.S. the Hornets shouldn't have signed Gordon for that ridiculous contract. Perdy darn good draftin and getting Anderson though. They'll be fun to watch but Gordon? Really? Gordon is your star?... if he's a star then they're going to be lottery bound until Rivers shows he can be (and prob will) one of the next best pg's - similiar to Curry, but hopefully w/o the injuries.

Well, I was tryin' to come up with NEW teams making the playoffs this year, so I was looking for some teams to decline. And I may well be wrong about the Grizz.

Mavs are tougher, though. Always liked Brand, but he must have lost a LOT for the frontline-poor Sixers to let him go, even at the high price. And Roddy B could very well be like Leandro Barbosa-one speed all the time and never developing any real PG skills. We'll see.

Dirk's great and Marion's still a unique player, but...I dunno. I don't have a lot of faith in the rest of the roster.

Also, Vince Carter should be living Antoine Walkers' life. Sharing a Boise motel room with another D-leaguer and then a knock on the door...a paper slides under it...it's a CONTRACT!! For much-needed MILLIONS!!! Woo-hoo! Oh, wait...it's from Toronto?? WTF? What's it say on the back? "Just kidding you f'ing quitter." In a world where karmic justice was achieved more promptly and obviously, that would happen.

Trollificus wrote:

Also, Vince Carter should be living Antoine Walkers' life. Sharing a Boise motel room with another D-leaguer and then a knock on the door...a paper slides under it...it's a CONTRACT!! For much-needed MILLIONS!!! Woo-hoo! Oh, wait...it's from Toronto?? WTF? What's it say on the back? "Just kidding you f'ing quitter." In a world where karmic justice was achieved more promptly and obviously, that would happen.

Priceless image! You one funny type guy.