The 2010-11 Season Preview rolls on with the fourth edition, this time highlighting the Southwest Division. This division has been historically strong, and there’s no reason to believe that’s going to change anytime soon, though it’s definitely taken a few steps back in recent years.
Dallas Mavericks
PG: Jason Kidd (Jose Barea)
SG: Caron Butler (Jason Terry)
SF: Shawn Marion (DeShawn Stevenson)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Tyson Chandler (Brendan Haywood)
Coach: Rick Carlisle
Breakdown: While this team seems pretty good, let’s not forget that the Mavericks always seem to fall short of their goals. Dirk is an awesome player and Jason Kidd continues to play well despite his age (he even figured out how to shoot threes in his free time). With Butler, Terry, and Chandler, and with Marion coming off the bench, this team seems poised to do great things. However, something inside of me says that they’ll figure out some way to screw it up. They’ll make the playoffs for sure, but I’m betting that they don’t go far. I like Dirk, but his team is cursed.
Prediction: 52-30
Houston Rockets
PG: Aaron Brooks (Kyle Lowry)
SG: Kevin Martin (Courtney Lee)
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Luis Scola (Chuck Hayes)
C: Yao Ming (Brad Miller)
Coach: Rick Adelman
Breakdown: Yao’s back…Yao’s back…Yao’s back! The league’s most overachieving team just got its best player back…for about 22 minutes a game. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Yao lasts the season, but I’m not holding my breath. With Kevin Martin on board, the Rockets have a consistent/prolific scorer, albeit one that is also injury prone. It’s tough to predict how well this team will do, but I’m going to venture a guess that Rick Adelman will get this team to maximize its potential.
Prediction: 46-36
Memphis Grizzlies
PG: Mike Conley
SG: O.J. Mayo (Tony Allen)
SF: Rudy Gay
PF: Zach Randolph
C: Marc Gasol (Hasheem Thabeet)
Coach: Lionel Hollins
Breakdown: Not much that I can say about this team, mostly because I didn’t follow them last year. Somehow they pulled out a 40-42 record. They definitely have talented players and hopefully Mayo and Gasol continue to develop, but otherwise the team doesn’t have much depth. Rudy Gay is a good player, but I think they need a few more pieces before they can be considered a contender. I’m going to predict a slight step back this season.
Prediction: 34-48
New Orleans Hornets
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Marco Belinelli (Marcus Thornton)
SF: Trevor Ariza (Peja Stojakovic)
PF: David West
C: Emeka Okafor (D.J. Mbenga)
Coach: Monty Williams
Breakdown: The Hornets will always be a threat as long as they have CP3, but other than that there’s not much else going on for them. David West is a rock and Ariza is pretty good, but the team lacks depth and Okafor has been a disappointment the last few seasons. It’s going to be a tough season for these Hornets.
Prediction: 37-45
San Antonio Spurs
PG: Tony Parker (George Hill)
SG: Manu Ginobili
SF: Richard Jefferson
PF: Tim Duncan (Matt Bonner)
C: DeJuan Blair (Antonio McDyess; Tiago Splitter)
Coach: Gregg Popovich
Breakdown: The Spurs certainly aren’t getting any younger, but their big three are still as solid as ever. If RJ can get things together, then this team will be a serious threat. If the Spurs can somehow get another superstar, they would be that much closer to a return to glory. I’m not going to write off this team anytime soon.
Prediction: 48-34
-Shogun
