NBA Northwest Division Preview

By Jimmy Boyd
The Northwest Division is the worst division in the Western Conference and the Denver Nuggets will likely be the only team advancing to the playoffs from this division. K.G. could miss the playoffs for the third straight year and Ray Allen for the second. The Blazers will be far from blazing but rookie Brandon Roy might give us a reason to watch.
Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets will take the Northwest and will likely be the only team advancing to the playoffs out of their division. Denver has depth and a number one option in Carmello but the fact that no one can make a jumper outside of 18 feet holds the Nuggets back. Karl wants to get shots up even quicker this season. Andre Miller will be vital to this team pushing the ball and finding shots for his teammates.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Too bad the T-Wolves couldn’t play in the Eastern Conference where having one star can be enough to make the playoffs as we’ve seen with AI in Philly and Paul Pierce in Boston. Garnett once again won’t have enough around him and will likely be out of the playoffs for the third straight year.
Utah Jazz: The Jazz will fall just short of the T-Wolves. I like Sloan’s defensive mentality, but the Jazz can’t score enough points to win. Kirilenko is a great high energy player who can block shots, rebound, and play defense, but he doesn’t have enough offensive skills. Deron Williams is this team’s biggest bright spot, but it’s hard to play the point when you don’t have anyone to pass to.
Seattle Super Sonics: Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis will launch away and they will win the games when they are hitting and they will lose the games when they are not. Seattle doesn’t play enough defense to win when they don’t shoot well. A team with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis could miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. That doesn’t seem right, but it just goes to show you how important the front line is in this league.
Portland Trailblazers: Darius Miles and Zach Randolph are talented players, but not the kind of players who can put a team on their shoulders and lead them to victory. I’m expecting big things from Brandon Roy at the shooting guard position. He will get an opportunity to star right away and might just be this season’s rookie of the year. The Blazers need to keep adding pieces and chipping away.
Jimmy Boyd is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Jimmy_Boyd.htm
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