Bad Teams rising teams and Sleeper teams this 2012-2013 NBA Season (Western Conference)
This article will take a look at 2 teams from each conference that have a shot at wining the NBA title in what many would consider an upset as none is expected to go all the way to the NBA Finals. Of course Bobcats and Magic will be the worst teams this season leaguewide , the Sacramento Kings can could be an 8th seed now with T.Rob and Demarcus Cousins. Fredette has thus far been and will continue to be a bust. Sac should give up on him instead of Tyreke. Aside from thinking that the Kings, Hornets, Jazz, and Suns will be in the battle for the 8th seed out West, there are 2 sleeper teams in the West that wouldn’t surprise me if they won the title.
Let’s start with the Western Conference:
1.) Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers acquired some great talent in Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, and Matt Barnes, but letting Nick Young go to sign Jamal Crawford may not pan out the way management hopes. In addition to being much younger than Crawford, Young is also much better defender and more explosive player. Jamal Crawford is a good addition to any team but not when it means not resigning the aforementioned Young. Crawford however should thrive by having the likes of Chris Paul passing him the ball for wideopen threes.
The Clippers definitely have a squad in CP3, B.Griffin, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, Deandre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Green , Ryan Hollins, and Ronny Turiaf .
Even though Vinny Del Negro hasn’t presented himself as the best X and O’s guy the fact of the matter is that he does have CP3 at the PG slot to carry the offensive load. Last season, the Clippers often found themselves trailing big in the 4th quarter or blowing huge leads in the end. They were lacking in veteran leadership and guidance, perhaps a reason for why they added Grant Hill to the mix. With Chauncey Billups making a comeback, the Clippers will have the veteran leadership and poise that they lacked last season.
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are an amazing tandem. There’s no question about their scorin ability, but what’s really going to be important to how far the Clippers go is how they fare on the defense. Paul has been slowed down by injuries, but many still consider him to be the undisputed number 1 PG in the game. His on ball defense will be crucial for the Clippers if they want to make serious noise in the Western Conference. Griffin meanwhile will have to continue to shot block and grab key defensive rebounds.
Deandre Jordan is also an interesting subject when looking at the Clippers. Jordan worked hard on his game this past summer, and has shown signs of that of hard work paying off during the preseason. If Jordan can become more of an offensive threat rather than just being a garbage collector guy type of player, the Clippers could become something very special.
If Jamal Crawford can hit his 3’s at above a 40% clip, Blake Griffin and CP3 stay healthy and Lamar Odom gets back to playing basketball and not Kardashian, the Clippers have a great shot of moving from pretender to contender status.
2.) Denver Nuggets
The Lakers aren’t the only team in the West that benefitted from the Dwight Howard trade. In fact, the Denver Nuggets got a great gift for being one of the facilitators of the Howard blockbuster deal. The Nuggets gave up Aaron Afflalo and Al Harrington in exchange for Andre Iguodala!
The Nuggets got a steal in Iggy. Not only is he a major upgrade from Afflalo (although Afflalo is a good player as well with solid 3pt shooting and D), the Nuggets more importantly were able to get rid of Al Harrington’s bulky contract while bringing in a sold lock down defender and dunker in Iggy.
Upon further glance the Nuggets are very scary looking with Iguodala in the mix. George Karl’s Nuggets will run, run, and run squads of the gym in the Mile High altitudes of the Pepsi Center. Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried, Javale McGee and Iggy will lead to a lot of options on offense. Whether he’s acting as a facilitator or on the receiving end of Lawson’s passes, Iguodala’s presence in Denver could catapult the Nuggets to the upper ranks in the West.
But the best part about Iggy isn’t his offense. It’s his performance on the other side of the court. Iguodala is known to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. His elite defense is just what the Nuggets need to be serious playoff contenders. If the Nuggets have any shot to overthrow the Thunder and fend off the Lakers, Iguodala must play his best basketball..