

As always, the 2014 NBA Western conference is going to be very strong and competitive. At this point, I would say the only lock is the Oklahoma City Thunder at the No. 1 seed. But even that depends on the successful return of Russell Westbrook from his devastating meniscus injury. Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and Westbrook are all high-impact players that rely on athleticism and in doing that there is always the heightened risk of injuries. As always, the 2014 NBA Western conference is going to be very strong and competitive. At this point, I would say the only lock is the Oklahoma City Thunder at the No. 1 seed. But even that depends on the successful return of Russell Westbrook from his devastating meniscus injury. Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and Westbrook are all high-impact players that rely on athleticism and in doing that there is always the heightened risk of injuries.





But we’ll save the rest of the team-by-team analysis for the meat of Part II, my predictions for the way the Western conference will pan out in 2014:





OUTSIDE LOOKING IN





Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz





It would be interesting to see how the standings would pan out if some of these teams were in the East because the new-look Pelicans and (healthy?) Timberwolves would make strong playoff pushes. And Kobe Bryant would find a way to get his undermanned Lakers to limp into the playoffs—somehow, someway. In the West, though, these teams are destined for an early summer in 2014. With the Mamba laying low in the beginning, I don’t expect anything out of Mike D’Antoni…and he won’t disappoint. When Kobe comes back, he will grind out some wins but is that really the best thing for the Lakers franchise (or even Kobe)?





since 1976. (Somewhere David Stern is crying in the background at the thought of lost revenue from the NBA’s most popular franchise.) Regardless, the Lakers will miss the playoffs for only the second time in the Kobe era and only the third time. (Somewhere David Stern is crying in the background at the thought of lost revenue from the NBA’s most popular franchise.)





The Pelicans may have put together something special and will compete for the final spot with Jrue Holiday, The Brow, Tyreke, and Eric Gordon. They may not make it this year, but 2015 is not unreasonable to expect the New Orleans franchise to re-enter the playoff fray.





SPARTA YOUR TICKET TO A FIRST ROUND EXIT THIS ISYOUR TICKET TO A FIRST ROUND EXIT





8. Portland Trailblazers

Damian Lillard is a mini-Westbrook without the ego—and he’s also the franchise player, unlike Westbrook. LaMarcus Aldridge has been the center of Portland’s organization for many years but Lillard proved in his rookie campaign that he’s readily capable of 30-point shows. In terms of players 23 and under, he’s behind Kyrie, Paul George, James Harden, and maybe John Wall. That's it. But even more so than those other players, Lillard has untapped potential. He will be a perennial All-Star in the NBA. A first appearance on the national stage in the NBA playoffs would be a huge step in that direction. And in all likelihood it would be Lillard vs. Westbrook.





7. Denver Nuggets









It’s easy to sleep on the Denver Nuggets after losing Andre Iguodala, but to do so would be a huge mistake. Their core of Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, and yes…JaVale McGee is a strong one. Denver was 38-3 at home—the best record in the league—and the Little Man Who Could, Nate Robinson, will relish that home-court advantage. That strong spark off the bench may not be enough to get the Nuggets another 57-win season, but they will definitely be a playoff team.





6. Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are one of those teams in limbo. They have been the West’s version of the Atlanta Hawks: always good enough to get a seed in the middle of the conference but never able to make it to that next step, the NBA Finals. Like the Nuggets, Memphis has a very strong core of not-quite star players. Even with the much desired combo of a strong frontcourt (Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol) and backcourt (Mike Conley, Tony Allen), they don’t have that go-to superstar that propels teams to NBA championships. But, as always, the Grizzlies will be right in that 4 – 6 range for playoff seeding.





ANYTHING GOES: THE BIG FREE-FOR-ALL IN THE WILD, WILD WEST





5. Los Angeles Clippers

Lob City, led by Chris Paul, will be fun to watch as always. And with Doc Rivers bringing championship experience to Los Angeles, it will be the second year in a row where the best team in LA is not the Lakers. While everybody rightfully raves about Rivers’ ability to rally an NBA locker room, I still think that there are four teams with player personnel that surpass the Clippers. Blake still has to work on shedding his "soft" label...but he is still a star in this game. In each of Griffin's three seasons in the NBA, he’s averaged over 20 points per 36 minutes on over 50 percent from the field.

J.J. Redick, Antawn Jamison, and Darren Collison were quiet but solid pickups. Redick will help the Clippers space out the floor and Collison will be a great backup to CP3. With their current squad, anything less than a top-5 seed would be a huge disappointment—but realistically if LA clicks, a two-seed is not out of the realm of possibility.



4. Oklahoma City Thunder The Warriors, like the Indiana Pacers, model how you want to build a deep franchise but both will ultimately fall one spot short of the No. 1 seed to teams with a more loaded front-end. The Heat and the Thunder combine to have the two best players in the game and four of the top ten. Health is the hidden card behind any NBA franchise’s success, but with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the OKC Thunder are clear favorites to win the West. (Edit on 10/14...well not so much now that Westbrook is re-injured. They'll still be in the hunt for a top-5 seed but that "clear favorite" idea I said? Not true anymore.)





3. Houston Rockets





Chandler Parsons is one of the more underrated players (put up 16-5-4 in 2013) and will emerge as valuable starter for Houston. McHale will have to work out an effective rotation that involves D12 and Asik and we still haven’t mentioned the best player on the team, James Harden. I’m with Dwight Howard will add a dominating defensive presence on the inside for Houston. Offensively, however, it remains to be seen how Kevin McHale will integrate Howard into their run-and-gun offensive scheme that relies on quick possessions and a high percentage of threes. And unless Hakeem Olajuwon truly overhauled Howard’s offensive game, the new center still has very limited ability in the post. And his goal may be to shoot 75 – 80 percent from the line, but Howard has to hit 50 percent first.Chandler Parsons is one of the more underrated players (put up 16-5-4 in 2013) and will emerge as valuable starter for Houston. McHale will have to work out an effective rotation that involves D12 and Asik and we still haven’t mentioned the best player on the team, James Harden. I’m with Kevin Durant on this one: Harden was snubbed a top-10 spot by Sports Illustrated’s 2013-14 ranking. With a Harden-Howard duo leading the way in Houston, the West should be on alert.





2. Golden State Warriors







You could make a strong argument that each of the Warriors starters (Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Lee, and Bogut) are top-five players for their respective positions and there’s no doubt that all are top-10 for their position. The Black Falcon (Harrison Barnes) also has to be a favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award and Draymond Green and Jermaine O’Neal will lead a highly capable group of role players. Golden State is the most well-rounded team in the NBA and Mark Jackson will be sure to get the most out of each of them. It’s been a long haul for Warriors fans, but this team is finally ready to compete with the best in the West. You could make a strong argument thatof the Warriors starters (Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Lee, and Bogut) are top-five players for their respective positions and there’s no doubt that all are top-10 for their position. The Black Falcon (Harrison Barnes) also has to be a favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award and Draymond Green and Jermaine O’Neal will lead a highly capable group of role players. Golden State is the most well-rounded team in the NBA and Mark Jackson will be sure to get the most out of each of them. It’s been a long haul for Warriors fans, but this team is finally ready to compete with the best in the West.