Ahhh the great Northwest, where the air is crisp and nature is at it's best. This year the Northwest Division will be predictable, but will have plenty of surprises. Can Portland live up to the lofty expectations? Can the Jazz stay stay consist? The T-wolves have new players and a new mindset, Denver is still defenseless, and last but not least the Oklahoma City Thunder, enough said.
Portland Trailblazers- Greg Oden is back and ready to roll, Brandon Roy is a superstar in the making, and Nate McMillan is a hall fame coach in the making. The LaMarcus Aldridge is a stat stuffer, Travis Outlaw is quiet guy that does everything. The bench is full of fresh talented players Channing Frye, Rudy Fernandez(Spain), and rookie Jerryd Bayless(Arizona). Portland is can be scary good. They should be a shoe in for the playoffs. But like every young team. The Blazers will face some growing pains. In the future this team could be the next dynasty. The sky is the limit for these young Blazers.
Denver Nuggets- The Nuggets will no doubt be a offensive machine with A.I. and Melo leading the way. J.R. Smith can score at a rapid pace as well. The Nuggets traded Marcus Camby for cap space. Camby was the anchor of their defense. So can Nene and Kenyon Martin hold the fort down? The bench is average, nothing to get excited about. George Karl will be in the hot sit if the Nuggets go south quick. Denver is truly a talented team. But until they play defense. The Nuggets will get eliminated in the 1st round at best.
Utah Jazz- Utah has a great pick and roll combo in Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Memo Okur spreads the defense with his 3pt shooting. Ronnie Brewer does the little things that have a huge impact. Anderi Kirilenko is a player of many talents. The bench is good with shooting specialist Kyle Korver, rebounding and low post play Paul Millsap, and veteran leadership in Matt Harpring. Not to mention some young talent. Jerry Sloan will get the best out of his team. But can they make it to the finals. Anything short of the finals would be a failure.
Minnesota Timberwolves- This team could be a sleeper for a 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs. Al Jefferson is explosive center on the rise. Rookie Kevin Love(UCLA) should be a great complement to Jefferson. The T-wolves got Mike Miller in the Mayo Love swap. Miller should keep defenses honest. Miller also gives Minny a another scorer. The bench is full of good solid players Ryan Gomes, Rashard McCants, and Craig Smith. Minny has a lot of talent and could be a surprise to the league.
Oklahoma City Thunder- Why the Thunder they couldn't think of a better name? Anyways, off my soap box. Kevin Durant is a scorer, but can he play some D. Jeff Green is a really talented utility guy. Rookie Russell Westbrook(UCLA) is a project on converting to a shooting guard to point guard. Nick Collision is undersized but hustles. Chris Wilcox is up and down. The bench is a project as well. The Thunder have a lot of work to do. One thing they should pursue are some veterans to shore up the bench. However I don't see the Thunder striking for awhile.
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