Western Conference burning questions

[Manu20]

Western Conference burning questions
Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 21 hours ago

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5015752

Go ahead and come up with some reasons why the San Antonio Spurs won't defend their Western Conference le. Actually, it won't be easy to come up with a contention that they won't win their third NBA le over the past four seasons.

Some of that is because they're such a great defensive team. Some of it is because Tim Duncan is such an exceptional team player. A lot of it comes from coach Gregg Popovich, his uncanny knack for consistently putting the right pieces around Duncan and his tight-fisted coaching.

And the rest of it comes from the steady improvement of the Spurs while the rest of the conference keeps slip-sliding away. So as the Spurs continued to reload this off-season, let's take a look at what unresolved questions they may have — while the conference's 14 other teams attempt to overcome their own issues to chase them down.


Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets finished 32-8 after George Karl took over as coach and certainly appear to be on the rise. But a lot has to happen before they can be considered serious contenders.

Carmelo Anthony had a nightmarish off-season in 2004, and it carried over into last season before Karl arrived and got him back on track. He had a great off-season in 2005 and appears ready to become the superstar everyone expected. But has he grown enough up to deal with the responsibility?

The great expectations of Nene in the post have diminished as he seems to have topped out after an exciting rookie year two seasons ago. They can sign him to an extension, but he wants a ton of money; and, really, is he worth it or should they sign and trade him?

Voshon Lenard tore his Achilles' tendon shortly after the 2004-05 season tipped off, and although DerMarr Johnson improved a lot, the team was never comfortable with their outside shooting. But they brought back both guys, plus signed point guard Earl Watson to a big contract despite having Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. There has to be a trade brewing, doesn't there?


Minnesota Timberwolves
Dwane Casey was hired to replace the displaced Flip Saunders, while both Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell were sent packing as well. It now appears the ride to the conference finals in 2003 was a fluke rather than the first step toward seriously competing for the NBA le.

Kevin Garnett remains one of the top five players in the game, but one look at the rest of the roster makes you wonder what he's thinking about on his way home from the Target Center on a daily basis. When he surprisingly signed a long-term extension, the promise was building a le contender. How will he handle the mediocre roster now?

Along with the dealing of Cassell came multi-purpose guard Marko Jaric. He showed flashes of excellence with the Clippers, but then again, so does everyone. Can he be a 35-minute point guard on a playoff team?

They lost the swagger and experience of Cassell and Sprewell, but they also gained the mouthy swagger of rookie Rashad McCants from North Carolina. With only their second first-round pick over the past six years, why did they pass on Antoine Wright, Danny Granger and Hakim Warrick?


Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers took their long arms and snatched coach Nate McMillan away from their neighbors to the north to bring some discipline to this young and restless roster. In theory, it was a great move because they needed it.

McMillan is excited and focused on the new adventure with few early expectations after being jacked around by Sonics management the past few seasons. But how will he handle this group that has been so out of control?

Until the Blazers took Jarrett Jack with their second pick of the first round this season, none of their previous five first round picks (Martell Webster, Sergei Monia, Viktor Khryapa, Sebastian Telfair and Travis Outlaw) went to college. One cornerstone, Zach Randolph, has one year of college and the other — Darius Miles — is another unruly prep-to-pros guy. Rebuilding is one thing, but in which decade were general manager John Nash and president Steve planning on being compe ive?

The Blazers owe center Theo Ratliff almost $35 million over the next three years, and other than blocking some shots, he hardly contributes on the floor. Young 7-footer Joel Przybilla came into camp in great shape and is coming off a major leap in productivity last season, so why not hang on to Ratliff, the most overpaid and underproductive player on the roster?


Seattle SuperSonics
The Sonics were the surprise team of the West last season, scaring the Spurs deep into the fourth quarter of Game 6 in the second round. But gone are Nate McMillan, Antonio Daniels and Jerome James — three significant figures from that run.

The players all complained about McMillan's toughness and inflexibility after he went out the door, but they obviously responded. Will they play with any defensive tenacity under the gentle approach of Bob Weiss?

Rashard Lewis became an All-Star last season but continued to break down as the second half of the season progressed. Does he have the toughness to play through persistent knee tendonitis and shoulder problems?

Vladimir Radmanovic opted to take the one-year qualifying offer instead of the long-term six-year deal and others that were on the table. Like Lewis, he was injury prone last season. How will he respond this time around, particularly coming off the bench; or will the Sonics relent and package him in a trade by mid-season for fear of losing him?


Utah Jazz
Coach Jerry Sloan is coming off by far the worst season of his 17 years as head coach of the Jazz — the 26-56 mark only outdone by the 19-32 record before getting fired by the Chicago Bulls in 1982. It isn't going to happen again.

Rookie Deron Williams, although shorter, has the same build and demeanor as Jason Kidd, and that's just what the doctor ordered here. He even comes from Illinois with a better shot than Kidd had coming out of college. But just how ready is he to take over this team?

So much was made of the Jazz paying $68 million to steal power forward Carlos Boozer from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2004, and he seemed a lock to be the answer to Karl Malone. Yeah, right. Instead, he played in only 51 games due to a sprain in his right foot that just wouldn't heal. He then became the source of constant trade talk. Well, one year into it, now what?

Andrei Kirilenko is the lone All-Star on the team. A superstar defensively who led the league in blocks from the small forward position, he was just catching on the offensive end when injuries struck. He played in only half the games last season due to a sprained knee and a fractured wrist. Will he be back to All-Star level, and can he raise the team's performance enough to compete for a playoff spot?


Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors
The Warriors finished last season as a ball of fire behind point guard Baron Davis, playing the final two months of the season at 18-8 — a stunning turnaround from 16-40 the first two months.

Obviously, the acquisition of Davis from the Hornets was the difference. His relentless pushing the ball up the floor jump-started this young team with confidence and enthusiasm. But Davis has tended to have a weight problem and has consequently broken down a lot the past few years. He's still only 26, but can he stay healthy?

Ordinal out of range

College coaches have had such a horrid track record in the NBA, and just where does former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery fit in after last year's roller coaster ride? Does he have enough confidence in his team and his own fledgling NBA experience to eradicate the losing culture that has been there so long?

With the addition of Davis, Mike Dunleavy Jr. should be even more effective in the offense with his all-around game. His numbers improved ever so slightly last season, but now a mature 25, is this the year he takes a major step toward the s om that being the third overall pick in the 2002 draft predicted?


Los Angeles Clippers
Now in his third season as coach, Mike Dunleavy Sr. figures it's time to make a serious run at the playoffs with these guys. But have they improved at all from last year's 37-45 run?

So much has been made about the talent of second-year point guard Shaun Livingston, and he is indeed tall and talented. But is he ever going to get strong enough physically and mentally to overcome the soft, injury-prone rap that has dogged him since high school?

History says Sam Cassell makes a positive impact his first season on a new team, and now the Clippers are the seventh team for the soon to be 36-year-old point guard. Whereas his honest approach to prove the detractors wrong is one thing, will he be able to stop his body from breaking down anymore?

The buzz has had Corey Maggette on the trading block all summer, but the loss of free agent Bobby Simmons makes the need for Maggette's 20-point scoring capability paramount to the Clippers' success. Does he still feel part of this, or does he want out as inevitably everyone seems to?


Los Angeles Lakers
Coach Phil Jackson is back after a one-year absence, but it's hardly the same team he took to the NBA Finals four of his five years as coach. He's older, but there's no promise that the roster is wiser.

Kobe Bryant is 100 percent healthy and past his off-court woes. He's now 27 and clearly the leader of this team. Has he matured enough to be Jackson's ally and return to the kind of consistent productivity on both ends of the floor to rate as an MVP candidate again?

Jackson brought in former Michael Jordan sidekick Scottie Pippen to work with Lamar Odom and presumably turn him into the de facto Pippen to Bryant's de facto Jordan in Jackson's triangle offense. Is this asking too much of everyone involved?

The big off-season trade for the Lakers was sending Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins to the Washington Wizards for the untapped potential of young 6-foot-11 Kwame Brown and throw-in role player Laron Profit. The wild card for all of this is Brown, who has the size and talent to justify being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 draft. His work habits and overall at ude has been lax at best — but he's only 23, so can this worrisome rap be overcome?


Phoenix Suns
The acclaimed 21st century team that won 62 games a year ago playing full blast has a made-over roster for coach Mike D'Antoni, who promises to keep the tempo at full throttle.

Amare Stoudemire had micro-fracture surgery on his left knee and will be out until at least the All-Star break. This is a stunning blow to the Suns and the NBA, losing the most exciting big man to come on the scene in years. But history says that surgery requires more than four months, despite the obvious advantage of turning just 23 next month. When will he return, and how will it affect his confidence and skills?

The Suns weren't the same team when Joe Johnson was out in the playoffs following that horrible fall in the postseason that fractured bones in his face. Well, now they've traded him. How will the acquisition of Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and the draft choices make up for his absence?

Steve Nash is coming off a career-year, winning the NBA's coveted MVP award for turning around this 29-win team of the previous season as a free-agent signing. But the Mavs allowed him to leave because they didn't believe he had the stamina to warrant big bucks for the coming years. Nash will turn 32 in February, and without Stoudemire for a long while and Johnson for good, how close to last year's performance can he possibly play?

Sacramento Kings
The one thing you can count on is that Kings president Geoff Petrie will not remain status quo if things aren't working. He unloaded Chris Webber's bad knee and even more bersome contract last winter and began reloading this summer.

Shooting guard Bonzi Wells has All-Star capabilities, but has consistently been a headache for every coach he's played for. There is no better coach in the NBA for head cases than Rick Adelman. Can Adelman get through to Wells as he has for so many others? The Nets opted to pass on Shareef Abdur-Rahim after doctors got a load of his well-worn knee. The Kings ignored it and signed him to a five-year deal worth $29 million. Unquestionably, Abdur-Rahim is an A-plus guy and puts up consistent stats. But he's played in more games than anyone else in the league without one playoff appearance. Can he be the missing piece for this team?

The Kings have to find a way to keep center Brad Miller healthy. The main reason the Pacers refused to pay him major bucks was because of his penchant for breaking down late in the season. Well, he's been an All-Star for the Kings but continued to get injured late in the season, and it killed them. Can they cut his minutes enough so he's healthy late in the season? If so, they could be the second best team in the West.


Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks
The Don Nelson Era is officially over, and young Avery Johnson is the coach now and for the foreseeable future — particularly after engineering the advancement to the second round of the playoffs after falling behind 0-2 at home to Houston.

Jason Terry had some exceptional games in the playoffs last season after erratic play during the regular season. Everyone knows he's an explosive scorer, but is he ready to be the kind of consistent floor leader and playmaker Johnson wants at point guard? The Mavs have invested 10s of millions of dollars in the future of center Erick Dampier, and he's the same riddle wrapped in a mystery that everyone else saw in his previous eight seasons. He averaged 9.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.36 blocks last season, numbers that were — with the exception of the 2003-04 season — the best he's fashioned in seven years.

Dirk Nowitzki was the most pronounced critic of Dampier, causing both to go postal after the first two playoff losses to Houston. But what was more disconcerting was the way Nowitzki shot the ball during the playoffs after being named first team All-NBA for the first time. He's an incredibly talented and unique offensive player, but having lost his two best friends on the team — Steve Nash and Michael Finley — in successive years, is he destined for unhappiness this season?


Houston Rockets
Blowing a 2-0 lead to the Mavericks in the playoffs left a terrible taste in the mouths of coach Jeff Van Gundy and the Rockets. But they didn't stand still, adding more players around Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

Yao continued to improve his numbers, averaging 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game, raising those numbers in the playoffs as well. Still, only 25, the 7-5, 300-pounder continues to be called an underachiever despite his solid all-around game. Just how much will Yao continue to grow as a player, and will he be perceived as a winner?

McGrady was spectacular in the playoffs, despite the loss and the obvious fact that he was gassed at the end of the series. He still hasn't gotten out of the first round in the playoffs, and his ability to play off of Yao didn't quite work itself out — but the addition of another athletic player up front in Stromile Swift should help. Can McGrady make the rest of the team better around him?

As if throwing a lot of money at Swift wasn't a big enough gamble, the Rockets traded for mercurial Rafer Alston. No doubt, he has the talent to be the point guard they sorely need. That was clearly the missing piece last year. Although the Heat and Raptors didn't think; so does Alston have the head to consistently run this team?


Memphis Grizzlies
Contrary to popular belief, Jerry West signed a two-year extension to keep rebuilding the team for Mike Fratello and cleared out Bonzi Wells, Stromile Swift, Jason Williams, James Posey and Earl Watson in the process.

Lorenzen Wright is clearly the most experienced and productive of the centers on the roster, but no contract extension was worked out; and despite being the lone native son on the roster, Wright wants to be traded. Can he work out the issues with West and Fratello, or is one more big trade in the offing?

While blowing up the backcourt, West brought in 32-year-old, diminutive veterans Damon Stoudamire and Bobby Jackson to help at point guard and even some shooting guard. Stoudamire exceeded his career scoring average for the first time in seven years last season, shooting the ball exceedingly well from 3-point range and shooting .915 (182-of-199) from the free throw line. Jackson has been horribly injury prone the past three seasons, playing in only 134 out of a possible 246 games — and just 25 a year ago. Can these guys really help?

Prior to last season, the Grizzlies gave forward Pau Gasol a maximum contract extension, the clear message being he's their franchise player. But he hurt his foot, missed 26 games and had the lowest rebounding and assist totals of his four-year career. Now, 25, Gasol didn't play in Spain during the off-season, choosing instead to work to make himself stronger and more focused for this season. Will he finally earn kudos as one of the top power forwards in the West?


New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
As if things haven't been bad enough for the Hornets, they now are suffering the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, playing the bulk of their season in Oklahoma City, with just a handful in Baton Rouge at LSU while New Orleans is being re-built.

Rookie point guard Chris Paul was one of the top collegiate players last season at Wake Forest and considered as close to a can't miss draft pick as they come, but does he have enough juice to inject wins into this battered group?

Center Jamaal Magloire, just one year removed from his first All-Star appearance, was injured nearly all of last season — out most of the time with a fractured ring finger — and played in only 23 games. He made it clear that he wants out, but no trade has occurred. Will he play his way back into All-Star form and earn a ticket out of there or lapse into uninspired play?

Since he coached the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals twice, coach Byron Scott has been chastised for not preparing as well as other coaches, the inference that he just sort of wings it a lot. A very bright and talented basketball man, has Scott grown beyond the criticism, or will he accept the fate of having presumably the worst team in the West?


San Antonio Spurs
With three les in the bag since 1999, coach Gregg Popovich has secured his spot as one of the top coaches in any sport; ditto for Tim Duncan as a three-time NBA Finals MVP; and this year they might be even better.

It's hard to believe point guard Tony Parker is still only 23, and already has two les under his belt. He signed a fat contract before last season and has a very public and apparently happy relationship with television star Eva Longoria, yet he's not a complete package. Can he overcome the shaky confidence he has shown in the postseason over the past two years?

Acquiring veterans Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel, it's apparent that Pop loaded up for another le run. Finley, 32, gives them much needed outside shooting from the bench; and Van Exel, soon to be 34, is the perfect wise old head to push Parker at point guard — and another superb long-range shooter. Will they get enough minutes to stay sharp physically and mentally?

Veteran NBA writer Mike Kahn is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

Jesus, compare Parker's career with someone drafted one season later (Dunleavy) in a much higher position....Wow. It is amazing to think about how young this kid is, by the time he is 27, how good could Tony Parker be?

The nice thing is that when Tim retires we should have the following pieces comming into their own : Sadizkid, Mahinimi, (scola?), and maybe the injured lithuanian that i could never dream of spelling correctly to add to the already established (and hopefully polished) veteran Tony Parker.

[spurs_2108]

Too long to read...