NBA: Western Conference, Team-by-Team Early Season Reviews

Please note: This is the first part of HoopsHabit’s team-by-team breakdown of the early season so far. Here, we review each team in the Western Conference. Make sure to check back on Friday for the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs were never supposed to recover from the heartbreaking defeat in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and here they are five weeks into the season sitting at 13-1, tied for the best record in the league. The team is the largely the same as last year’s except for the addition of Marco Belinelli, who is averaging 8.1 points off the bench. Gregg Popovich continues to do a masterful job of balancing the minutes throughout the roster, especially with veterans Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Not one player averages more than 30 minutes a game and it goes to show you that the Spurs are well-oiled machine who will be a top contender to come out of the conference once again.

Portland Trail Blazers

Aldridge seems to be a lock to make the All-Star team again.(Photo/Flickr.com)

Led by All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge and young star point guard Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league with a 13-2 record. This looks like the year they could actually make some noise in the playoffs. Mo Williams has provided a spark off the bench averaging close to 10 points a game for the season and looks to be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Adding Robin Lopez to play next to Aldridge in the frontcourt has boosted the All-Star’s numbers and efficiency even more (22.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, both career-highs). Lillard, who’s far from having a sophomore slump, could be in contention for the All-Star Game in a packed conference full of top point guards. The team has also won 11 in a row.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant leads the league in scoring. Are you shocked? Surprisingly though, he leads the team in assistsn averaging more than five a game for the first time in his career, which is evidence of his growth in the playmaking department. Russell Westbrook looks every bit as explosive as he was pre-knee injury and the Thunder can only hope he does not go the way of Derrick Rose. Without a consistent third scoring option, Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson have both come off the bench averaging 9.1 PPG and 9.8 PPG, respectively. Steven Adams was drafted in the first round to be the eventually replacement for Kendrick Perkins, and Adams has been quite efficient to start the season, in less minutes posting a better PER than Perkins (4.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 18.8 MPG).

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are the second-highest scoring team in the league with a pick and roll offense designed around Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. A Doc Rivers-coached team is giving up 103.3 PPG on defense? That will be the issue for the team going forward, figuring out how to get stops to close out games better. J.J. Redick is averaging 16.0 points as the starting shooting guard, a new role for him and also a career-high. DeAndre Jordan is averaging 12.7 rebounds a game which is more than five more than he averaged last season, good for third in the league.

Houston Rockets

Fear the Beard. (Photo Credit: Angel Blue, Flickr.com)

Acquiring Dwight Howard has not paid off as well as the Rockets would have thought defensively, as they are allowing teams on average to score 104.3 points against them, ranked 29th in points allowed. On the other hand, they are the top scoring team in the league, led by James Harden and a bunch of shooters. Terrence Jones is thriving in his starting role replacing Omir Asik, averaging 17.0 points over the last five games. With Patrick Beverley starting, Jeremy Lin is a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 16.0 PPG. What is to happen with the Asik trade situation?

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs continue to regret letting Tyson Chandler go to New York, ranking as one of the worst rebounding and defensive teams. The year they won the championship, Dirk Nowitzki had help on the interior and they’ve failed to replace it since. No longer is Nowitzki the no. 1 scoring option either, with free agent signee Monta Ellis averaging 23.5 PPG. Ellis is shooting just about 50 percent from the field, second highest in his nine-year career.

Golden State Warriors

A bit hampered by injuries to start the season, the Warriors are 8-6 and trail the Clippers by a game and a half in the division. Coach Mark Jackson said last season that he has the best shooting backcourt of all-time with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and Thompson this season is shooting lights out from 3 (48%). Andre Iguodala has helped shore up some of the perimeter defense, as the Warriors are ranked eighth in points allowed. In his second year, Harrison Barnes (21 years old) keeps showing signs of his immense potential to be a perennial All-Star for years to come.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets have a balanced roster coached by rookie coach Brian Shaw. The question at hand: Is Ty Lawson an All-Star? He’s averaging 20.7 PPG and 8.7 APG, which are Lillard type of numbers. They lack another big-time scorer, but the Nuggets get a lot of consistency from each role player, from Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson to Jordan Hamilton. Kenneth Faried’s name has been brought up a few times in trade conversations, but he’s been an energetic forward who rebounds, hustles and runs the floor. What could they get in a trade for him … Iman Shumpert perhaps?

Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s been an MVP-type of year for Love so far. (Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com)

Kevin Love’s MVP-caliber season so far has put the NBA world on notice as the best power forward in the game. The jumped out to a 5-2 record with a signature win over the Thunder, but have settled to 8-8. With Ricky Rubio at point guard, they’re one of the most exciting teams to watch because of Rubio’s ability to set up his teammates in the most creative ways with flashy passes. Kevin Martin is playing like it is 2008, when he averaged 24.6 PPG.

Memphis Grizzlies

A 7-7 start is not what the team was expecting and now with Marc Gasol on the shelf for three to four weeks due to a knee injury, the Grizzlies will have to battle to stay above .500. One of their strengths last season was rebounding, but this year that is a different story. They rank 22nd in rebounding and not one player is averaging double figures in rebounds. Could they make a move before the trade deadline to acquire a young perimeter scorer? Tony Allen, Mike Miller and Tayshaun Prince, three of the perimeter players who get the most minutes, are all on the decline. An infusion of youth on the perimeter is much needed in Memphis.

Los Angeles Lakers

Where are all the Lakers haters at? Predicted by many to not even be in the playoff hunt, after 14 games they’re 7-7 and that’s without Kobe Bryant, who has a fresh two-year, $48 million contract coming to him. There is no other coach in the league who can get the most production out of an average player than Mike D’Antoni, where guys like Jodie Meeks, Nick Young and Xavier Henry are having career years. The D’Antoni system, predicated on strong point guard play, has Steve Blake ranked eighth in assists per game. Gasol is better suited as a no. 2 scorer and he’ll be better off once Kobe returns.

Phoenix Suns

Suns fans have to be ecstatic about the play of all the young gunners, led by Eric Bledsoe who is easily a top three candidate for Most Improved Player coming over from the Clippers. This was supposed to be a team that tanks for a high draft pick-that simply has not been the case. Six players are averaging double digits in scoring. Gerald Green is having his best season as a pro under Jeff Hornacek and Miles Plumlee actually looks like a solid big man going forward.

New Orleans Pelicans

Talk about living up to the hype. Anthony Davis would be considered a top five MVP candidate (19.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 4.0 BPG, 1.8 SPG) if it were not for the Pelicans 6-7 record sitting at the bottom of the Southwest division. And it’s only Davis’ second year as a pro and he’s beginning to make the jump to potential All-Star. Tyreke Evans has had to adjust to a sixth man role and is averaging 10.8 PPG. In just four games since returning from injury, Ryan Anderson is averaging 18.8 PPG.

Sacramento Kings

It seems that having Shaquille O’Neal as a mentor to DeMarcus Cousins is paying off. Cousins is averaging 21.3 PPG and 10.5 RPG and is playing like the best center in the league. There are only a few bright spots outside of Cousins for the Kings. Isaiah Thomas is quietly sliding into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation and Ben McLemore has elevated his play the past few weeks as a rookie (8.8 PPG). The recently acquired Derrick Williams should add some stability to the power forward rotation.

Utah Jazz

Don’t expect the Jazz to sell out home games any time soon. At 2-14, they have the worst record in the league and seemed destined for a top three lottery pick. Gordon Hayward is the team’s best scorer averaging 16.8 PPG and could be in a for nice payday this summer. After signing an extension with the franchise, Derrick Favors is nearly averaging a double-double with 13.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG. Trey Burke recently came back from injury, so can he provide another scoring spark for the team?

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