Once mighty Pacific hoping to rebound
Simply put, the Pacific Division, once a powerhouse in the Western Conference, was a joke last season.
The Phoenix Suns ran away with the division title, with their 61 wins giving them a 19-game cushion over the second-place Los Angeles Lakers. While three teams did manage to make it into the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors did it with 42-40 records. In fact, it took a five-game winning streak by the Warriors to hold off the Los Angeles Clippers, a division foe, to earn the eighth and final playoff spot.
The Suns remain the class of the division, while the Warriors hope to build on their Cinderella run in last season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Clippers look to regain their winning form from two years ago, while rookie NBA coach Reggie Theus tries to rebuild his former team in Sacramento. And Kobe Bryant just wants some help.
Is the sun setting?
Phoenix has been one of the NBA's top regular season teams under coach Mike D'Antoni, but for whatever reason, that hasn't translated to reaching the NBA Finals.
The Suns added some veteran help during the off-season with the signing of forward Grant Hill. But it remains to be seen whether Hill will be enough for the Suns to get past both Dallas and San Antonio.
The Suns still did nothing to address their need for a backup point guard to two-time MVP Steve Nash, leaving Marcus Banks and Leandro Barbosa to fill the void. Rookies Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry were better than expected during summer league and look to find playing time off the bench.
Chemistry could be an issue with reports surfacing of Shawn Marion's jealousy of Amare Stoudemire. Those two have to get along, at least on the court, if the Suns have any chance of reaching their goal. The versatile Boris Diaw must also become a consistent threat instead of vanishing the way he did in the playoffs.
Will Kobe just get along?
The biggest question heading into training camp for the Los Angeles Lakers is how Kobe Bryant will fit in with his teammates after spending a good part of the summer demanding to be traded if the Los Angeles Lakers didn't get him any help.
With Kevin Garnett being dealt to Boston, and no deal occurring with New Jersey for Jason Kidd, the only help Kobe Bryant got was the return of veteran Derek Fisher, the drafting of rookies Javaris Crittenton and Sun Yue and the signing of free agents Coby Karl, Larry Turner and Elton Brown.
That's not exactly the All-Star caliber of Garnett and Kidd. Instead of having a chance at a fourth NBA title, Kobe Bryant is likely to score a ton of points for yet another mediocre Los Angeles Lakers team.
But if center Chris Mihm can stay healthy for a change, center Andrew Bynum finally starts showing the potential everyone says he has, and point guard Jordan Farmar becomes more consistent, the Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to at least be a middle of the pack playoff team.
Whoa, Nellie!
In his first season back as coach of the Warriors, Don Nelson got his team hot at the right time. Not only did the Warriors win their last five games to make it to the playoffs, but they knocked off defending Western Conference champ Dallas in the first round, before losing to Utah in five games in the second round.
It was in that second round that Nellie's small-ball tactics were exposed against the taller, more physical front court of the Jazz. Golden State hopes to remedy some of that lack of size after trading their most popular player, Jason Richardson, for the rights to 6-9 rookie forward Brandan Wright. And with Richardson gone, the Warriors will be counting on third-year guard Monta Ellis to take on a more vital role.
Italian rookie guard Marco Belinelli gives the team more outside shooting.
During the playoffs, Baron Davis regained his All-Star form, almost single-handedly carrying the team to victory. But as always, the question with him this season is can he stay healthy. If he does, the Warriors will again be a tough team to match up against.
A down year, or same old Los Angeles Clippers?
After surprising everyone during the 2006 playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to contend with the Suns for Pacific Division supremacy last season. But an atrocious start never allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to set sail.
Then, they nearly sank when point guard Shaun Livingston went down with a serious knee injury that will also likely have him sidelined for all of this season. They did make a late-season surge after acquiring veteran Jason Hart, but fell just short of the postseason.
This year, the Los Angeles Clippers signed point guard Brevin Knight to assist the aging Sam Cassell in the backcourt. All-Star forward Elton Brand is still recovering from off-season surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon. He is in a walking boot and he's hoping to be ready when the season starts.
One key to the Los Angeles Clippers will be for center Chris Kaman to bounce back from last year's disappointing season and give the Los Angeles Clippers some much-needed scoring alongside Elton Brand.
If Corey Maggette can't get along with coach Mike Dunleavy this season, look for rookie Al Thornton to take over those minutes.
Looking to get crown back
The Kings slid to their losing ways of the '80s last season, resulting in coach Eric Musselman getting fired after just one season.
Sacramento has now turned it over to former King Reggie Theus, who after successfully turning around New Mexico State, is looking to do the same with the Kings in his first NBA gig.
The Kings are hoping Ron Artest can keep his off-the-court distractions to a minimum, while finding a way to get along with Mike Bibby. If they can co-exist, those two, along with emerging Kevin Martin, could be a very productive threesome.
The Kings are counting on 7-foot Mikki Moore to be a nice complement to fellow 7-footer Brad Miller, while rookie 7-footer Spencer Hawes develops.
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