The Golden State Warriors are coming off one of the most dominant NBA seasons in recent history after they won 67 regular season games and an NBA championship. When you consider that their roster remains largely intact heading in to this season, it should be no surprise that they are the favorites to protect their Pacific Division crown. Golden State’s 67 wins were 11 more than the Los Angeles Clippers a year ago and a quick look at the NBA futures odds for this season shows that a similar situation is expected for 2015-16.
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry put up outstanding numbers and won the league MVP award despite sitting on the bench for a lot of fourth quarters last season because the Warriors repeatedly pounded opponents into submission.
Curry probably still doesn’t get the respect he deserves based on the fact that he is surrounded by such a strong supporting cast and didn’t need to carry the team on his back every night but the reality is no other player was more dangerous from a pure scoring perspective last season. All eyes will be on No. 30 to see what he has in store for an encore.
Golden State moved David Lee to the Boston Celtics because of salary constraints but they signed Draymond Green to a long-term extension and return the same starting five as last year with Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Green and Andrew Bogut. This team is being slept on as many experts like San Antonio and Oklahoma City in the West, but the Warriors have done nothing to be knocked down a peg.
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Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers reloaded in the offseason with the additions of Josh Smith, Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson, and they managed to bring back DeAndre Jordan after he had committed to signing with the Dallas Mavericks. There is reason to believe they will be a contender in the Western Conference again. Jordan, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin form a formidable big three but the key for LA could be its depth with Smith, Pierce, Stephenson, J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford all needing to step up. The Clippers have the potential to win 60 games and contend for an NBA title but don’t expect them to catch the Warriors this season.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers learned the hard way that they can’t continue to fight the reality of what it takes to be a true contender in the Western Conference these days. Even after bottoming out last year, they did their best to add some quality veterans to their roster with the hope of getting back to the playoffs. Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert and Lou Williams won’t make Los Angeles an NBA title contender but they should make them more competitive alongside Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Julius Randle and rookie first round pick D’Angelo Russell.
The Lakers will be a more competitive team than they were last year if they can stay healthy but they will still face an uphill climb holding off the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings to avoid finishing in the Pacific division basement again this season.
Phoenix Suns
Phoenix added Tyson Chandler and Mirza Teletovic but they are also dealing with the fact that one of their best players (Markieff Morris) wants to be traded. The overall lack of direction from management down has hurt the Suns path to building a legitimate contender. Despite challenging for a playoff spot last season, they could have a tougher time contending for one this year. It’s unclear who the stars are on this roster and who makes this team elite outside of Eric Bledsoe.
Phoenix has the potential to win some close games against good opponents this season but consistency will be an issue. They likely won’t make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings are another team that has hurt their long term outlook by trying to fast track their way back to the playoffs. They’re a team with considerable talent but chemistry is an issue. They could be closer to needing a rebuild than actually making the postseason. DeMarcus Cousins isn’t happy playing for head coach George Karl and Sacramento made some questionable offseason moves including signing Rajon Rondo to be their starting point guard (after he was benched by the Dallas Mavericks for insubordination in last year’s playoffs).
The talent is there for the Kings to be a fringe playoff team but the more likely scenario is that they fall well short of that goal and are forced to once again reevaluate their long-term plan at some point in the near future.
