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NBA Season Preview Panel: Pacific Division

By Michael Dunlap

September 29, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and guard Stephen Curry (30) pose for a photo with their gold medals from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain during media day at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
September 29, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and guard Stephen Curry (30) pose for a photo with their gold medals from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain during media day at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Welcome to the official HoopsHabit NBA season preview panel, where 32 of our writers got together to put their proverbial pens to paper, voting on the winners in each division, the conference winners, the NBA champs and each of the six major individual awards. We’ll be rolling out a new column each day throughout October to show the results of our voting and how we see the 2014-15 NBA season shaking out.

This panel covers the Pacific Division, which saw the Los Angeles Clippers win the division by a full six games a year ago. They’re returning all of their key players, including MVP candidates Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. With DeAndre Jordan potentially competing for the Defensive Player of the Year award, the Clippers should be the favorites.

The Golden State Warriors have been a lot of people’s darkhorse selection to win the division this season and after the summer that Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry had, it’s hard to argue that fact. With Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut and David Lee, the Warriors starting five stands up to any team in the NBA.

For the Phoenix Suns, they’re hoping to build on a huge surprise of a season last year. Nobody expected them to be average, much less win 48 games. Goran Dragic is a stud, Eric Bledsoe is rich and Isaiah Thomas joins to create one of the best three-man combinations in the league. They’ll succeed or fail based on the continued development of guys like Markieff Morris, Alex Len and Miles Plumlee.

It’s easy to kick the Los Angeles Lakers while they’re down, but if we’ve learned anything about Kobe Bryant — it’s that we shouldn’t count him out. He’s surrounded by one of the weakest supporting casts he’s had in years, but the team is filled with guys who want to make a statement — guys like Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill — and we’ve never really seen Kobe as an underdog.

The Sacramento Kings are still the Kings. Yes, they’ve got some solid individual talent in DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Darren Collison, but they’re not built to compete in this division or the Western Conference. For whatever reason, they just can’t seem to click. Collison should help the defense, but they need more than just those three guys to compete.

Our official winner, based on 32 votes:

41. 30. 77. Final. 2

Johnathan Asaad agrees with the masses in thinking this is the Clippers division to lose:

"The Los Angeles Clippers have (arguably) the best point guard and power forward in the league in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin; however, two factors ultimately give Los Angeles the edge in the Pacific Division: the deep roster that surrounds the 2 All-Stars, and their proven head coach, Doc Rivers, who’s capable of drawing up creative set plays. Now that the Clippers have purged themselves of the inner turmoil that pervaded their 2014 postseason, Paul and Griffin are in the most advantageous position of their respective careers — not only to garner the first seed in the Western Conference, but to finally make it out of the second round of the playoffs."

Danny Webster thinks the Warriors are ready to make the next step:

"The Warriors stayed pat over the offseason, and that’s a good thing for Steve Kerr. With two years of playoff experience now under its belt, I see Golden State taking that next leap. Steph Curry will enter superstar status, and I think he’ll be a darkhorse MVP candidate. The signing of Shaun Livingston is going to prove wonders for the Warriors’ 3-point shooting. And if Andrew Bogut can stay healthy, that’s an added bonus. Look for the Warriors to dethrone the Clippers in the Pacific."