What will the NBA Western Conference look like in 2021-22?
The Los Angeles Lakers re-equipped during the offseason, acquiring names of stars such as Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo, while the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of gaining strength with the expected return. of Klay Thompson increasing his season prospects.
The LA Clippers, meanwhile, will be without superstar Kawhi Leonard – missing most, if not the entire regular season after surgery, to repair a partial ACL tear in June. Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray suffered his The ACL tear in April will lose most of 2021-22.
Will they leave the door open to those unfortunate injuries for the teams to play? Which teams have playoff blocking? Who will fight for the play-in tournament places? Who keeps closing?
Our group of experts predicts the win and loss records of the 15 teams in the Western Conference.
Note: Our NBA 2021-22 summer forecast will continue Thursday with our predictions of championships and awards, including MVP and Rookie of the Year.
Classification of the Western Conference
The contenders
1. Utah Jazz: 55-27
2. Los Angeles Lakers: 53-29
3. Phoenix Suns: 51-31
4. Denver Nuggets: 50-32
5. Dallas Mavericks: 48-34
6. Golden State Warriors: 48-34
Dallas got percentage points ahead of Golden State in our group’s predictions.
Will the remodeling of the Lakers ’season list, highlighted by the box office deal to take home former Vice President Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles, make the 2020 champions the clear favorite to win the West again?
Our group doesn’t believe it, at least not in the regular season.
There is no doubt that the Lakers lead the West with big names, as their roster now includes five infallible salons of fame with the low-season additions of Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard joining Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Rajon Rondo, like Howard, a bubble champion returning to the Lakers after a year out, will also have a strong case for Springfield.
But there are doubts about how Westbrook will fit in, especially at the start of the season. Both Westbrook and James have managed to get the teams out slowly as they adapted to playing with other dominant stars on the ball.
There are also concerns about whether a team that depends so much on the older players (nine are 32 or older) can hold on to playing 82 games. Davis, 28, has also had endurance issues, including a groin injury that was a major factor in the Lakers ’first-round start against the Suns last season.
The Jazz, our pick for the best record in the West, have continuity in a season in which they led the NBA in regular season wins. Utah believes it has improved its bench after a playoff run in the second round, replacing Georges Niang and Derrick Favors with Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside, and hopes for better health after star guards Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley they were affected during the postseason.
The Suns, who won the West last season after ending a ten-year playoff drought, kept their rotation intact by re-signing guards Chris Paul and Cameron Payne. Phoenix can reasonably anticipate internal improvement as its top young players continue to develop, especially center-back Deandre Ayton and little striker Mikal Bridges as they enter the final seasons of their rookie contracts.
The Nuggets are expected to finish fourth in the west, though star punter Jamal Murray hoped to lose much of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL. Denver, led by current MVP Nikola Jokic, finished the regular season with a 13-5 stretch after losing to Murray and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
The Mavericks and Warriors are virtually tied for fifth place, with Dallas just adding percentage points ahead of Golden State in our group’s predictions.
The Mavs made no major changes in the offseason, settling for the signing of 3-D Wings Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown, as well as re-signing shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. Dallas, which awaits a season of recovery from a Kristaps sa Porzingis, who has yet to prove he can be the caliber of co-star to complement MVP candidate Luka Doncic, who is needed for the Mavs to be real candidates.
The Warriors look a long way from their five-game winning streak in the Finals, considering Golden State hasn’t made it to the playoffs in the past two years. But Stephen Curry is still in top form, and his Splash Brother teammate Klay Thompson is expected to return a few weeks into the season after missing the last two due to knee and Achilles injuries.
– Tim MacMahon
The play-in group
7. LA Clippers: 45-37
8. Portland Trail Blazers: 43-39
9. Memphis Grizzlies: 42-40
10. New Orleans Pelicans: 37-45
The three-win difference between Dallas and Golden State and the rest of the West Field coincides perfectly with the separation between the top six teams in the conference – which would go straight to the playoffs – and those forced to make their way through of the NBA play-in tournament.
That would mean a change for both the Clippers and the Blazers, among the top six seeds last year. For the Clippers, the reason for the fall is obvious: our group certainly doesn’t expect Kawhi Leonard to play much, if not, during the regular 2021-22 season after surgery to repair a partial ACL tear he suffered in the playoffs in June past. . In addition to the Clippers playing after Kawhi’s injury, twice beating the Utah Jazz first-place finisher to advance to the conference finals, a regular season of 82 games without his best player will be a very challenging harder.
The fall of Portland seems to reflect some combination of Mavericks and Warriors with upward trajectories and the possibility that Damian Lillard will ask for it. If Lillard stays with the Blazers, he has a good chance of winning his 43-39 projection, as he won 42 of 72 games a year ago despite injuries that cost starters CJ McCollum (25 games) and Jusuf Nurkic (35) for prolonged stretches.
Our panel has the Memphis Grizzlies on the heels of the Blazers for eighth place, but they are likely to end up in the same place as last season, when they upset Golden State in the play-in before losing to the Jazz in five games. After replacing starting center Jonas Valanciunas for Steven Adams and adding a few short-term contributors to the roster, the Grizzlies are expected to shrink in terms of winning percentage from their 38-34 record on 2020-21 despite getting a healthy Jaren Jackson Jr. to start the season.
In terms of the projected record, the Pelicans are actually closer to the top five than the other teams in the playing territory. After a disappointing low season, New Orleans failed to land a veteran star to replace Lonzo’s ball (who settled for Devonte ‘Graham and Tomas Satoransky through sign-and-trade), the Pelicans are betting on internal development and arrival of Willie Green as head coach to take the next step in his development and reach the playoffs.
– Kevin Pelton
The bottom five
11. Sacramento Kings: 35-47
12. San Antonio Spurs: 34-48
13. Minnesota Timberwolves: 31-51
T-14. Houston Rockets: 22-60
T-14. Oklahoma City Thunder: 22-60
Houston and Oklahoma City ended up tied in our group’s predictions.
Within the five Western countries there is a high degree of variance and focus. There are teams like the Kings and Spurs, who are trying to find the right squad combination to push at least one game place. There are the Timberwolves, with a young roster and a renewed vision, who are trying to build towards something sustainable.
And there are the Rockets and Thunder, two former conference titans, who take abrupt and serious falls – strategically, mind you – to prepare for long-term success.
The Kings have been looking for a breakthrough for more than a decade, with several selections of drafts coming and going, each year showing signs of promise only to end in mediocrity. There’s a good team somewhere, with De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton anchoring a quality backcourt. But unless there is a serious Fox jump, it will probably be a late lottery for Sacramento again, according to our panel.
The Spurs went from DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, to Thaddeus Young, Doug McDermott and Zach Collins. His youth core of Derrick White, Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson is good, but unless there is major development, the Spurs will be out of the play-in again this season.
The Wolves are intriguing in what could be the next version of Suns, a winding franchise with a young superstar seemingly on the edge. No major rebuilds were seen during the low season, but with Anthony Edwards ’exciting debut season and the pieces in place, the Wolves are opportunistic and looking to find their veteran who can jump.
The Rockets will be a League Pass favorite with rookie Jalen Green, and the Thunder will continue to be a compelling rebuild to see with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, recently christened with a maximum deal, and the intriguing No. 6, Josh Giddey.
All teams in this group have at least some advantages, but there is certainly a separation between how long and how long it can last.
– Royce Young