Western Conference grades

[RonnieBrewer (Reverse Layup)]

Western Conference grades
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 5 hours ago

As ever, these grades should not be seen as absolute measurements.

Instead, they are meant to reflect each team's regular-season performance as
compared with its preseason potential and expectations. Accordingly, several
inferior teams will have higher grades than many superior teams.

DALLAS ─ C+

Last year's runner-up led the league in wins. But the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki
need to win it all to silence their critics.

No real surprises from the Mavs this season. As a finalist and near-champs,
they were supposed to dominate the West, although not quite so completely as
they have. Avery Johnson has continued to imbue his players with the kind of
in-your-face intensity that marked his own playing career. AJ also made the
most of his roster's versatility, and the defense showed some improvement.
It remains to be seen if Johnson's well-documented courage under pressure is
also contagious.

Should the Mavs fail to win the championship, then their grade will
automatically transmute into an F.

DENVER ─ B+ 

The Nuggets came on like gangbusters in the final weeks even though Allen
Iverson and Carmelo Anthony have sequential, rather than synchronous,
talents. Steve Blake is another vital addition since he relieves A.I. of much
ball-handling responsibility. The explosive scoring of Iverson and Anthony
make the Nuggets an especially dangerous foe in the playoffs.

But there's still work to be done on the roster. How far can a ballclub go
with essentially a two-man offense and a one-man defense?

GOLDEN STATE ─ B- 

The Warriors did play better than anticipated, especially after the trade.
They still lack a potent post scorer and a sufficient number of reliable
outside shooters. It's inevitable that Golden State be compared to Phoenix.
Like the Suns, the Warriors can make a scoreboard flash like a Fourth of July
fireworks spectacular. But they lack a Steve Nash-type point guard who's more
interested in facilitating than in looking for his own and passing only as a
last resort. Also, the Warriors' defense is even worse than the Suns'.

Given Nellie's trickeries and deceits, and given the one-dimensional skills
of most of his minions, there's little room for improvement with this
particular collection of players.

HOUSTON ─ A 

What with Yao Ming's broken leg and T-Mac's aching back, the Rockets
basically stayed aloft because of their defense. Shane Battier set the tone
in this department, and was therefore the primary catalyst for the team's
surprise success.

This was the best coaching job that Jeff Van Gundy has accomplished during
his entire career. Even more so than his leading the Knicks to the finals in
the strike-shortened 1998-99 season.

CLIPPERS ─ D+

From last season to this season, the Clips have devolved from a marginal
conference powerhouse to a team that has to struggle merely to compete for
the eighth seed. On too many occasions Elton Brand plays as though he's as
old as Sam Cassell. Shaun Livingston, even before his injury, failed to make
the next step in his development. Chris Kamen's lack of talent was revealed
and exploited. The hassles between Corey Maggette and Mike Dunleavy created
confusion, irritation, and distraction ─ the scars of which still linger.
Overall, the Clippers are less than the sum of their parts.

And the question remains: Aside from Cassell, does this team have enough
heart to successfully challenge its betters?

Probably not.

LAKERS ─ C- 

The Lakers played over their heads in last season's playoff confrontation
with Phoenix. There's simply too much immaturity on and off the court for the
Lakers to take fullest advantage of Phil Jackson's coaching. Among the
players, Andrew Bynum obviously plays like a teenager, but he also acts like
a grade-schooler. Smush Parker has delusions of grandeur. While in the
executive suite, Jimmy Buss wasted millions on Vlad-Rad and Brian Cook, and
did nothing to bring in a more experienced point guard.

With his shoulder still aching, Lamar Odom's jumper remains in intensive
care. Kobe is Kobe, but routine end-game double-teamings have reduced the
triangle to Luke Walton's going one-on-one much too often for the Lakers to
expect another overachieving playoff season.

The Lakers' miserable execution on offense and defense is a disgrace.
The shock on PJ's face while he's forced to watch his team's disgraceful
performance tells the whole story.

It's time for Dr. Buss to open up his wallet and reconfigure the team with
an influx of talented adults.

MEMPHIS ─F 

Don't blame the departed but unlamented Mike Fratello for the Grizzlies'
woes. The roster is loaded with an embarrassing number of inadequate
athletes. The bigs are either soft or dumb. There's no leadership at the
point. Pau Gasol's absence was no excuse since the Grizz had more than enough
time to salvage their season after he returned. Despite being ensconced in
the league's outhouse, the Grizz do have some glimmerings of a more civilized
future. Gasol is what he is. Mike Miller is a poor man's Kyle Korver (or is
it the other way around?). But the team always competed, and hope lives in
the spectacularly undomesticated skills of Hakim Warrick, the sprightly
talents of Rudy Gay, and the incredible potential of Tarence Kinsey.

After all, things can't get much worse.

MINNESOTA ─ F 

The front office, the fans and the media have the same misguided outlook: KG
is a superstar and the T-Wolves' perpetual failures are blamed on everybody
but him. None of the spare parts seem to fit Garnett's game, and the new guys
are just as inadequate as the old guys. Hogwash! As long as Garnett continues
to be vastly overrated, the T-Wolves will be toothless.

It's way past time to punch his humongously costly ticket, send Garnett
elsewhere, and start from scratch.

NEW ORLEANS/OKLAHOMA CITY ─ C+ 

The Hornets will just about duplicate last season's win total, yet they've
shown signs of coalescing around Chris Paul, David West and the "new" Tyson
Chandler, who's finally accepted his offensive limitations. The past despair
and future hope generated by the absence of Peja Stojakovic is a pipe dream. 
That's because Peja doesn't want (and shouldn't get) the ball when an
important game is up for grabs, and because his defense is pitiful.

Still, Byron Scott has managed to keep the treadmill moving at an acceptable
speed.

PHOENIX ─ B+ 

The defense is slightly better ─ but then it couldn't really have gotten
any worse. Nash is more than slightly better. Leandro Barbosa is immensely
better. Mike D'Antoni has redesigned the offense to keep Amare Stoudemire
from having to make sharp spins and putting undue pressure on his surgical
knee. And, if his own defense is ridiculously inept, Stoudemire's size and
straight-ahead quickness are big pluses.

The lack of power is a holdover problem, as is the short rotation. (Although
Barbosa's quantum jump has curtailed Nash's minutes.)

However, the Suns' honor roll grade for the regular season will most likely
be trumped by a dunce list grade in the playoffs.

PORTLAND ─ A- 

The best thing to happen to the Blazers was for Darius Miles to miss the
entire season. The absence of Miles' all-around selfishness allowed Nate
McMillian to firmly put his imprimatur on the team with few distractions.
McMillian was able to give Brandon Roy a huge amount of responsibility and
the rookie not only responded, but thrived. Jarrett Jack proved to be a
steadying force. If the second-year point guard doesn't have spectacular
talent, he has a good head and a big heart.

Now if only Miles would vanish into oblivion, and if Zach Randolph would
grow up, there would be fewer thorns growing in the Rose Garden.

SACRAMENTO ─ F

The old guys are too old, the young guys are too young, and Ron Artest is too
disruptive. A dull, plodding ball club that doesn't do anything particularly
well. Look for Eric Musselman to take the fall.

SAN ANTONIO ─ B

A grade of C for the first half of the season combined with an A for the
stretch run works out to a B.

Pop has his squad peaking at the right time. He smartly saved the legs of his
old-timers and didn't blow out his regulars during the preliminary season.

Tim Duncan is still the best player in the league. The Spurs are still the
league's smartest team and play the best defense. And Manu Ginobili is still
their X-factor. Whenever Ginobili fails to bring his A game, then Pop's grand
designs go for naught.

SEATTLE ─ C- 

The Sonics only functioned one step below expectations. Blame Bob Hill for
yapping too much, pointing too many fingers, and not doing enough coaching.
The arrogant Hill is better suited to be a sleazy politician than a
third-rate Pat Riley wannabe.

Also, by not settling the point guard position Hill ensured a season's worth
of confusion, unhappiness and not-so-secretly nurtured grudges. Then Hill had
the audacity to blame the team's misfortunes on the season-ending injury to
Robert Swift! The soft, inexperienced, often clumsy, defenseless Robert Swift?

Time for Hill to be shown the nearest exit ASAP.

UTAH ─ A- 

The league eventually caught up with the lack of runners, jumpers, and
creators on the Jazz. But as long as it lasted the flavor was truly tasty.

Andrei Kirilenko bought a house in Salt Lake City, but his game was deported.
Carlos Boozer proved he could play effectively while hurting opponents and
not himself. Derek Fisher had to use all of his guile and experience to
(barely) survive at the shooting guard slot. Utah's lack of overall
athleticism put immense pressure on young Deron Williams, and he (along with
Boozer and Jerry Sloan) deserve the credit for the team's early- and
mid-season syncopations.

Utah's late-season nosedive proves that precision and brutality will get an
NBA team just so far.



                                http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6683902

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