1-sentence prediction for every Western Conference team in the 2022-23 NBA season
By Dylan Carter
From the South to the North, we visit the Western Conference division that had the biggest transformation during the offseason. The arrow is pointing in opposite directions for the Timberwolves and Jazz following the Rudy Gobert trade while the Trail Blazers revamped their roster around Damian Lillard and Denver gets its second and third-best players back in the lineup.
If not for his injury, Chet Holmgren could’ve been the piece to help Oklahoma City get back into a winning mindset. Yet without its No. 2 pick, one has to wonder what the team’s motivation is heading into a new year. Nonetheless, the Northwest Division is a perfect representation of the Western Conference and its shifting, unpredictable nature.
1-sentence Western Conference predictions: Northwest Division of the NBA.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Is it possible to miss, meet and exceed expectations in the same season?
Oklahoma City Thunder: SGA is phenomenal, OKC benches him for draft odds, wash, rinse, repeat.
Portland Trail Blazers: ‘Does Dame Lillard want out of PDX?’ storyline returns by mid-March.
Denver Nuggets: If they can stay healthy, there’s no reason this team shouldn’t contend for a title.
Utah Jazz: Veterans get picked off like it’s a cheap horror movie, leaving only Sexton & Lauri.