NBA Season Preview: Southwest

Phoenix Suns
MVP: Steve Nash
LVP: Amare Stoudemire's knee

Mr.WEST: Just win the Suns were starting to convince other ball clubs to actually enjoy the game and score some points, Amare goes under the knife. Lets cut him slack and not oint out that he waited until pre-season to actually get is knee checked rather than take are of it in the summer. Or let's just point that out. But without Amare people are going to wonder if the Suns can really perform another minor miracle this year. I say yes.

In what likely will turn out to be a bad move for all involved, Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson are no longer Suns. Maybe those guys should've realized that Steve Nash and the Suns basically made their NBA careers in one season. But now they are gone and instead we have James "Who?" Jones and Raja Bell. I think those two jokers will fill the empty shoes quite nicely. Why? Because the Suns system works. They run and gun. And there are TONS of players in the NBA with incredible talent who can thrive in the right system. Just give those two a chance and watch them score points and fill the stat sheet.

Nash and the Matrix will be scoring as much as they can. The role of Kurt Thomas is now even more important. Can he keep up while hitting shots and rebounding? Yes. Kurt will need to be a rock for Phoenix and will deliver. I'm not sure the Suns will even see Amare this year at all but only a jackass would doubt a playoff appearance so once Amare emerges on the court come Spring, it's gonna get real interesting for opponents.

Mr.EAST: This is still a good ballclub, and you have to want them to succeed. There are too many teams that are unbearable to watch. At least you know you’re going to get some good hoops when the Suns show up. I actually wish that there were only 2 teams in the NBA. Suns versus Kings for 82 games. Make it 83. The extra game assures that one team is guaranteed to win the season series. The Suns will make the playoffs, and Amare shouldn’t come back even if he thinks he’s healthy. It’s not about this year anyway. Take the time to rehab and make sure you don’t pull an Antonio McDyess. The league needs you Amare.



Houston
MVP: Tracy McGrady
LVP: Rafer Alston/Bob Sura

Mr.EAST: I like this team to challenge San Antonio in the West this year. I’m not sure they have the power to bump the champs out of the top spot, but they will surely compete. The pieces seem to fit in Houston and I think McGrady is ready to shoulder the load on a real contender. It wasn’t so long ago that McGrady was the subject of MVP talk, and although we tend to think of Shaq, KG, LeBron, and a handful of others before T-Mac now, don’t sleep on the sleepy-eyed kid from Mount Zion Academy.

Yao Ming is the most famous person in China. That’s impressive for a nation of 2 billion. He’s probably also the only other Chinese object visible from space. See: Great Wall. He’s been kind of like Chinese food in his first couple of years in the NBA, despite great expectations. Tastes good, but you feel hungry for more after 20 minutes. This year may be different. Stromile Swift picks up some of the defensive slack that Yao seems reluctant to take, and provides awe-inspiring weak side help on anyone that beats the big man off the dribble. Likewise on offense, his athletic ability helps him run the floor and finish with authority, adding another dimension to the club that they sorely needed.

The weak spot is the point, where co-LVPs Rafer Alston and Bob Sura don’t seem to have a complete game between them. They both do a few things well, but nothing truly outstanding. The fortunate part of the Rockets problem here is that T-Mac handles the ball so much that the weakness at the point is minimized. You really need these guys to D-up and hit the open shot more than run the offense. If neither of them can defend the Rockets will have issues.

Mr.WEST: Maybe I dislike Coach Van Gundy too much to realize this team is the #2 team out West. His overcontrolling style and playcalling are more suited for football than hoops. Sad. The Rockets have the pieces in McGrady and Yao. They may even have the tools in Alston and Co. to make the pieces fit. But their coach cannot make these passive types turn on the switch—they must do it themselves. I do not see this team being hungry, savvy or determined enough to beat the Spurs. But I do see them taking it to the next level.



Memphis Grizzlies
MVP:
LVP:

Mr.WEST: I’m not quite sure what Jerry West is doing in Memphis but I get the feeling he is bored at his job. The Grizz (that’s the Grixxzzlies to you) were a 10-deep rotation last year which worked to a degree many did not think it could. Perhaps it was good ol’ Hubie Brown or Mr. NBA West himself, but the players seemed to have been instilled with sense for winning games as a team. With many contributors. And to a large degree, their recent facelift keeps that spirit alive. Except now there are fewer players.

A starting 5 of Might Mouse, Pau Gasol, Lorenzen Wright, Eddie Jones and Shane Battier will keep you in games 9 out of 10 nights. Yes, that lineup may not impress casual fans, the merchandise lady or Sports Center but it will keep teams honest. What may pose the problem is a thinner bench that will struggle to score buckets outside of gunner Mike Miller. What will drive this team is its acceptance that Pau Gasol has the chance to be a top NBA player if they push him properly. They should feed him the ball, set him up in the correct spots, and minimize his banging with larger dudes nightly.

Fratello is overrated, no debating it, but he took the typical tour of ex-coach in the TV booth turned new coach. What makes Memphis better than Seattle, Denver, LA and others? Not much. Perhaps their hustle, defense and competitiveness will make the difference. But at some point you gotta put that high school shit away and outplay the other guys.

Mr.EAST: Fratello can win these guys some games, but at what cost? Doesn’t anyone remember when he was the coach of the Cavs? Remember that “pull your own eyeballs out of your head” style of play that produced nightly scores in the 60s? He’ll do alright with a smarter team on the court than he had last year, but isn’t the point to try to get to the Finals at least. This franchise seems content with a little playoff taste, and then go quietly into the night. Why should Memphis have a team anyway. That’s the question we should be asking ourselves. Forget everything else I said.



Dallas
MVP: Dirk Nowitzki
LVP: Erick Dampier

Mr.EAST: I was tempted to make Mark Cuban my LVP (Least Valuable Person) for his Jeckyl and Hyde management strategy, but he may just yet have something up his sleeve and I’ll wait it out. He runs the Mavs like his own personal fantasy team, and he’s the knee-jerk owner in your league that dumps an All-Star player 3 weeks into the season for a guy he thinks has star potential. He wants to look smart and has hurt the franchise with his impulsiveness. How do let Steve Nash go, and then Michael Finley in successive seasons? Dallas didn’t play defense and got hurt against teams like San Antonio, but they’ve plugged a lot of question marks into the roles once filled by top NBA players.

Nowitzki can still will this team into the playoffs and his presence should lift guys like Jason Terry and Josh Howard. Marquis Daniels is an intriguing talent, but hardly the caliber player at this stage that the Mavs will need to make a real run at a playoff series. This team has taken a major slide recently, and only a shrewd addition will give them what they need to ascend the Western Conference again. I predict they will eventually trade Dirk and start again. Sad, really.

My LVP is of course perennial disappointment Erick Dampier. He’s a great backup center, but his ego and reputation precede him now as a veteran and any team who employs him will have to deal with his need to start. Plus, his contract prohibits the signing of another center to play in front of him. Ugh. Any guy who is mentioned in the same breath as Dagsana Diop for playing time is a scrub.

Mr.WEST: Dirk is going to blow up even more his year. Watch. When no one from the states was watching, he single-handedly almost won h Euro championships this past summer. The guy is taking it to another level, watch. MVP candidate. Now, he has the unfortunate possibility of being a great talent on a squad that loses more anymore games each year. They need a true power forward. Bad. Letting Nash go is still embarrassing a full year later. I think this squad is too loose and stupid to win in the playoffs.



San Antonio
MVP: Tim Duncan
LVP: Michael Finley

Mr.EAST: The Argentine people believe that Manu Ginobili is the MVP of this ballclub, and have elevated him to the status of national hero. Good for you Manu. Nice to be loved. It still doesn’t change the fact that Tim Duncan is the MVP of the Spurs and probably the league whenever he wants. Without Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili would be playing on the Washington Wizards. Duncan’s presence alone makes this team a favorite in their division, conference, and probably the entire league.

Now that I’m done hyping up the Big Fundamental, I have to say that I don’t think this team is as solid as it was last year. They have too many players. Why the NBA champs felt they needed to add Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel is beyond me. It’s that George Steinbrenner/Mark Cuban mentality that you need an All-Star at every position to win that ends up hurting championship ballclubs. Now Gregg Popovich has to worry about managing minutes for his new toys, and that means splitting time between Van Exel, Finley, Horry, Parker, Ginobili, Brent Barry and Bowen. That may fly on the 2nd night of back to back games, but it makes a mess of his rotation and come playoff time expect some guys to be pouting on the bench.

That leads me to my LVP, Michael Finley. Why the hell did he choose to go to San Antonio? I know every player wants a chance at the title, but you want to play too, right? Finley is going to get 15-20 minutes a night on this club and practically Jack Haley his way to a ring if he gets one. I would have loved to have seen him back on Phoenix where he would have played 30+ minutes and scored 25 points a game next to Steve Nash. What a waste.