Yeah, we all know that if these teams were in the East, they’d probably all make the playoffs. But they’re not, so they wont. Enjoy the “almost famous” teams out West!
Sidebar: Each NBA preview column will feature contributions from myself, and fellow HHSR contributors Kenneth Hicks and Anthony Hueston.
Memphis Grizzlies
Last Season: The Grizzlies are a funny team. Every year, basketball pundits like to get on TV and say, “You know what team everybody better watch out for come playoff time? The Memphis Grizzlies!” But for one reason or another, Memphis never really ends up being a serious title contender. The 2015 season was no different. This time though, it was injuries that largely derailed Memphis’ title aspirations. Mike Conley — who somehow has never made an All-Star team — broke a bone in his face during their first round series against Portland. Conley braved through the fracture and returned in the second round, but his valor would only yield one victory before his team would drop three of the next four games in route to 4-2 series defeat to the eventual champion Warriors.
Sidebar: Do you have any idea how remarkable Mike Conley’s Family is? From Tuskegee Airmen to Larry Elder to Maurice Cheeks— it’s unbelievable! The reality is most Black people can’t come anywhere close to tracing their family back to the mid 19th century, let alone have this many success stories across so many sectors of society. Seriously, click that link!
The Grizz again were one of the top defensive teams in 2015 (led by Tony Allen, who was also injured in the playoffs), finishing second in the NBA in fewest points allowed. Despite missing time early in the season, center Marc Gasol’s defense, and his 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, afforded him First Team All-NBA status. Memphis’ 55 wins earned them the fifth seed in the West, but they were only one victory and some tiebreakers away from the two seed.
Offseason: Gasol resigned a lucrative deal, as expected, and the Grizzlies bolstered their frontcourt by acquiring Brandan Wright. The summer was relatively quiet down in Tennessee— until Matt Barnes came to town.
A notorious “bad boy” around the league (if you buy into that sort of thing), Barnes was traded to Memphis in June. Things were all good on Beale St., until Barnes got a call that Knicks coach Derek Fisher was parlaying up at his crib with his estranged wife like everything was sweet. There’s conflicting stories about what happened, but basically Barnes went to his home and got into an altercation with Fisher. It’s unclear whether or not this specific issue will spill over into the Grizzlies season, but suffice it to say Barnes attitude will fit in nicely at The Grind House.
Sidebar: If the reported facts on that story are true, then the bulk of the blame absolutely falls on D Fish. Barnes and Fisher were former teammates and friends (supposedly). Fisher has to know Barnes is a hot head, and he knows his former lady (still the mother of his kids) likes attention (we can infer this based on her Basketball Wives exploits). Of all the women Fisher could’ve been with her chooses this one? YOU’RE THE HEAD COACH OF THE KNICKS! You cannot find yourself the subject messy tabloid fodder, especially if you work in New York!
#Trending: Neutral. After a 6-1 preseason, Grizzlies fans are likely feeling optimistic about the upcoming campaign. But Memphis failed to make significant adjustments to a squad that year after year falls short against superior teams in the Western Conference. Memphis is still a team that struggles to get timely buckets when it counts. Perimeter shooting is still an issue. Zach Randolph is now 34. And the more you look at this team, the more they seem like the West’s version of the mid-2000s Washington Wizards: A talented team with three very good players, but no superstar. And management keeps running the same group back expecting a different result.
Memphis will be a tough out in the West, but they’ll be just that, out in the West.
— JH
Phoenix Suns
Last Season: To sum up the Suns 2014-15 season in one word? Forgettable. After blowing up the backcourt at the trade deadline (deals sending Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat, and Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics), the Suns flamed out the remainder of the season. Finishing with a 39-43 (.476) record they were the 10th seed in that hyper competitive Western Conference. Having said that, they were not one of the worst teams in the west, but certainly were not good enough to sneak into playoff contention. In fact, there was a six game difference in between the #10 Suns and the #9 Oklahoma City Thunder. As the West’s forgotten middle child, the Suns struggled to find an identity and frustrations mounted within the organization.
Offseason: The Suns lack of team direction ambled into the summer. Things took a turn for the better when they picked up 18-year-old Kentucky sharp shooting guard Devin Booker. He should be able to provide some marksmanship and depth for the Phoenix bench. They also secured Eric Beldsoe and Brandon Knight (yes, that Brandon Knight) for the long haul by resigning both players. The Suns took some swings and misses at a few major free agents over the summer, most notably LaMarcus Aldridge. They did however happen to land big man free agent Tyson Chandler. Chandler will bring great length, athleticism, and tenacity under the boards to the Phoenix bigs.
The over-arching storyline that may have tremendous impact on the season is the trade of Marcus Morris to the Detroit Pistons on July 9. While a player simply being traded is commonplace in the league, splitting up twins who have played together their whole lives is not. Markieff (the older brother) was highly upset. So much so he initially promised to not play at all for the Suns. Considering he and his brother both opted to resign with the Suns for less money simply so they could stay together, one could understand his frustration. With Marcus out of the picture in Phoenix, questions are beginning to mount as far as whether the irritation with the team will affect Markieff’s ability to perform or if he could become a disturbance in the locker room. Cooler heads have prevailed for the time being, but time will tell if the brothers/Suns battle escalates further throughout the year. It’s safe to say that the Pistons will be watching these developments closely.
#Trending: Down. Phoenix doesn’t seem to have a true vision for where they would like to go as an organization. The three-headed point guard monster of Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas and Eric Beldsoe proved to be ineffective. Their next idea was to clear room for a big name free agent. After landing Chandler, but none of the other larger players on their wish list, the Suns appear to be a team in limbo. Having no marquee talent and a head coach in Jeff Hornacek only in his second season, the Suns will have a hard time heating up the Western Conference. As a team, they seem to be “jacks-of-all-trades” and masters of none. They will need to find out who they are and what they would like to “hang their hat” on as a unit. Defensive play? Winning at home? Run-and-gun pace like Nash and the old Suns? Whatever it is, last year’s “middle of the road” statistics across the board will not be acceptable if the Suns aspire to rise in the West.
— KH
Dallas Mavericks
Last Season: Since winning the title in 2011 the Dallas Mavericks have made the playoffs three times and been bounced in the first round in each appearance. In 2014, the Mavs were a juggernaut offensively ranking 3rd in points per game and fifth overall in offensive rating but were an abysmal failure on defense coming in 25th in opponents points per game and 20th in overall defensive ratings. The fact that they finished 50-32 and made the playoffs as a seventh seed in the Western Conference is stunning.
During the season (and for reasons still not completely clear) the Mavericks traded Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, Brenden Wright, a 2016 second round pick and a 2015 first round pick (top seven protected) for Rajon Rondo. Rondo was immediately named starter and averaged nine points, seven assists and four rebounds in 46 games. Rondo’s skill set never fit with coach Rick Carlisle’s style wherein the point guard spreads the floor and moves without the ball, neither of which are Rondo’s strong suit. Furthermore, disagreements over play-calling duties between the two men boiled over courtside during a timeout and, which signified the beginning of the end for Rondo in Dallas.
The Mavs brought in the recently waived Amar’e Stoudemire to boost their bench scoring. STAT played 23 games notching 10 points and 3 boards per game in 16 minutes.
In the playoffs the writing was on the wall from the opening tip. The Houston Rockets were just better. Remember that 20th ranked defense? It came into play as James Harden, Josh Smith and Corey Brewer ate like kings. Dwight Howard averaged 17 and 14 in the gentleman’s sweep.
While the seconds where ticking down for the Mavs season the relationship with Rondo had already run its course; the players had voted to not share the playoff bonus with him and the coaching staff cooked up some fake injury just to keep him away from the team. The great Rondo experiment had failed and all parties had fault.
Offseason: In the 2014 draft, the Mavericks drafted Justin Anderson out of Virginia. The 230 lb 6’6″ shooting guard will have to adjust to the infinitely more athletic and competitive league but will also have to learn a new style of play. At this level, the Mavericks will use Anderson in motion off of screens and pin downs to create easy shots in rhythm, a stark contrast to his slow motion offense at Virginia.
In free agency, the Mavs replaced Tyson Chandler with JaValee McGee. Dallas agreed to two-year, four-year deals with guards Deron Williams, Wes Mathews and JJ Barea respectively after seeing Monta Ellis move on to Indy. They also traded for Zaza Pachulia after getting the run around from DeAndre Jordan who reneged on a verbal commitment to sign with the team after getting heavily persuaded by Doc Rivers and the rest of the Clipppers. Zaza is no DeAndre Jordan, but he is low-cost at one-year $5.25 million in an expiring deal, and is at least competent.
#Trending: Down…The Long Kiss Goodnight. The defense will still be bad this year and that historically great offense will be tough to replicate. The Mavs will also start the season with injury concerns to three of their preferred starters; Wes Mathews, who is coming off of an Achilles rupture that cut his season short in Portland, Deron Williams and Chandler Parsons. The trio subsequently had limited practice time in the offseason. Dirk is still here but at 37 is in his twilight and will need help to carry the load, not to mention back him up defensively.
It’s a great thing that the Dallas won their title when they did because they are looking at going 0-1000 with big top-tier free agents and have so-so record in the draft. DeAndre was the latest in a long line of marque free agent to flirt with Dallas only choose to sign elsewhere. The Mavs need to refocus on trying to fully rebuild this franchise or at least prepare for the fast approaching post-Dirk era. The “blockbuster” Rondo deal was a short-sighted Texas sized gamble for a player past his prime and looking for a max deal who did not fit what their style, and cost them a first round pick, removing any incentive to tank this season (unless they completely hit bottom).
Good luck Dallas, you’ll need it.
— AH
Utah Jazz
Something just ain’t right about Rudy Gobert.
Last Season: Unless you’re a Utah Jazz fan, live in Utah or are a total hoops junkie in need of help, there is a decent chance you weren’t checking for Gordon Hayward and the Jazzmen nightly last season. The Jazz finished 38-44, but went 19-10 after the All-Star break, including a six game win streak. In the second half of the season, Utah ratcheted up their defense thanks to growing basketball twitter legend Rudy “The Stifle Tower” Gobert, who as his nickname implies, is a prolific shot blocker with 189 swats last season; second only to The Brow. The 7’1″ center was acquired via draft day trade with Denver and when starter and defensive dullard Enes Kanter was traded at the deadline to OKC, Gobert took over the starting center spot and did not look back.
Their late season push notwithstanding, the Jazz finished eight games outside of 8th place behind the Pelicans, Thunder and Suns in the West. Utah was one of three teams with a positive point differential (+0.2) that missed the playoffs; the others being OKC and the Pacers, both of whom missed due to tie breakers.
Offseason: The Jazz selected 6’10” forward Trey Lyles out of Kentucky with the 12th overall pick. Lyles played small forward for the Wildcats in the tallest lineup in the NCAA and second tallest when compared to the NBA (second only to the Utah Jazz). Lyles was forced to the perimeter by top ten picks Karl-Anthony Towns (sports hyphenated name strikes again) and Willie Cauley-Stein (and again) and showed a unique ability to defend the 3-spot, while having the frame of a traditional big man. Offensively, he showed he can be a force…among offensive forces. It will be a major question if he can actually defend 3s at the NBA level, but if he can most nights he will be a huge coup for the Jazz.
While Utah added a talented big they lost their talented, if inexperienced, point guard Dante Exum out of Australia. The 2014 fifth overall pick tore his ACL in an international exhibition game and will be lost for the upcoming season. The 6’6″ 19-year-old showed promise in his rookie season coming off of the bench, and Jazz fans hoped he would take over starters minutes and responsibilities. Now with those hopes dashed, Trey Burke will remain as the starting point guard for Utah.
#Trending: Undeniably up. The Jazz finished the season with the top rated defense in terms of opponents points per game, and had one of the best records post-ASG. They’ve got a lot of talented young players and first-time NBA head coach Quin Snyder led the team to 13 more wins than the previous year.
The Jazz may finally be starting to see fruits of seven first round picks in the past five years. Derrick Favors was the third overall pick in 2010, and was the centerpiece of the Deron Williams trade with New Jersey, has become a very solid player (16 ppg, 8 rpg,1 blk). We mentioned Rudy Gobert at the onset; Gordon Hayward, who has bulked up after his Team USA experience, has begun to come into his own as a guy can do a bit of everything from the small forward position (19 ppg, 4 rpg, 4 apg). Rodney Hood, Utah’s second first rd pick in 2014 from Duke, didn’t start consistently until the last third of the season due in part to lingering injuries. With injuries hopefully behind him, the Jazz will count in his scoring ability from different spots on the floor to take some pressure off of Hayward.
The injury to Exum hurts but there is reason to believe that this team will be a tough nightly matchup. In 2014 they established a defensive-first identity akin the Memphis Grizzles that will be vital, as they are still a bit short on offensive firepower. Jazz management has amassed the largest team in the NBA in a total rebuke of the “small ball” trend in today’s NBA. The Jazz have done relatively well in the draft, which is vital for a small market team in a less than glamorous locale. Anytime this franchise has been contending for playoffs or championships (Jordan pushed off and everyone knows it) it was with home-grown talent leading the way and it appears that the Jazz are finally recovering from trading one of the best point guards in the NBA…ya know, at the time.
— AH
New Orleans Pelicans
Last Season: The Pelicans were already a team on the move. 2015 was culminated by a late season playoff push and an unexpected first round pummeling by the Golden State Warriors.
So what they got swept? It was a learning experience for the young team from the bottom of the map. Last season was marred with injuries. Jrue Holiday missed over half the year. Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon missed 21 games each. Even Anthony Davis missed significant time. On the bright side, they shot the lights out from downtown (.370). Davis even went on to lead the league in blocks per game (2.9) which certainly helped his case for making the All-NBA First Team. After four consecutive seasons with improving win-loss records and the team’s first playoff birth since the 2010-11 season, Pelicans head coach Monty Williams was in a great position to help guide his young team and look to make the appropriate acquisitions to fortify his inexperienced crew.
Offseason: …Or so we thought! May 12, 2015, word comes that Williams was being relieved of his coaching duties by the Pelicans. May 31st, Golden State Warriors (the future NBA Champions) assistant coach Alvin Gentry is announced as the new big man in the “Big Easy”. A well respected coach with several head coaching stops on his resume, Gentry (and the Warriors staff) managed to catch lightning in a bottle last year. It was only a matter of time before teams came calling and few opportunities could be more enticing than a chance to help mold the versatile but still green Davis.
NOLA drafted Branden Dawson, a former Michigan State Spartan who had the dubious distinction of making the 2015 Big Ten All-Defensive team. The Pelicans lost both combo guards Jimmer Fredette and Toney Douglas over the summer. The team made a handful of minor additions in the offseason, but focused on keeping the usual suspects in place for a new playoff run.
#Trending: Up. Are you kidding me? Anthony Davis is the real deal. Remember when he actually ended the Thunder’s playoff chances back in February?
The best is yet to come for the Pelicans. Make no bones about it, this team will only go as far as “The Brow” can carry them and as far as Coach Gentry can guide them. Look for Gentry to pick up the pace down in The Bayou much like he did at Golden State. Expect the Pelicans to maintain their strong perimeter presence, which led to them to be among the best in opponent’s three-point shooting (.335, tied with the Bulls for second-best in the NBA). It is a contract year for Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Anthony Davis (well, not so much AD). Look for Gordon and Anderson to be hungry and to stay on the court more than they have. The team’s ability to resign them will depend in-part on the team’s growth this season, and most importantly, their ability to rise to the occasion in the playoffs.
That’s all down the line though. What matters most is the season at hand. As Alvin Gentry rallies his young troops, look for a fast-paced tempo, great floor spacing (to compliment Davis’s versatility) and look for the great perimeter shooting to continue. Sounds like a proven formula for success for Gentry— he captained Phoenix to the Western Conference Finals just five years ago.
— KH