The Western has lost some of their conference dominance with the East winning two of the last three NBA titles but make no mistake all these teams have a chance to make the playoffs and that is is something the East can't boast! There are teams for every style you like to see from the international game the Spurs feature to the triangle of the Lakers. It's all here! Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett all reside here and with the west we'd be without late night basketball! Enjoy the preview and feel free to correspond with me! The ball is in the air so lets give you some insight.

Pacific Division

The best point guard in the game: Steve Nash, looks like he's about to set someone up for a easy two points.

*Phoenix Suns – The Suns are the league best offensive team and feature two-time MVP Steve Nash. The team won over 50 games last year without their power forward Amare Stoudamire and with the emergence of Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. The team lost Tim Thomas and Eddie House but recently picked up Jalen Rose and with Stoudamire's presence and the return of center Kurt Thomas should be enough to keep this team in the Western Conference title hunt.

*LA Lakers – Two words: Kobe Bryant! Best player in the league and now he has help in Lamar Odom and Vladimir Radmanovic. Bryant averaged 35 points last season so everyone should know he can score but it was his play last year in the playoffs that impressed me. Bryant showed that he was willing to get his teammates involved and they almost made him a true believer by almost beating Phoenix in the opening round. This team led by Kobe and Phil Jackson play well together and show the intangibles needed to possibly vie for the Pacific title.

*LA Clippers – These aren't you father's Clippers! This version of the Clippers have potential all-stars at multiple positions and have a good head coach with a philosophy the team can believe in. Elton Brand leads the team with his scoring and rebounding and Sam Cassell leads with his veteran moxie. Chris Kaman is quietly a top 5 center in the league and the team has great mix of youth like Shawn Livingston, Quinton Ross and Daniel Ewing along with vets like the aforementioned along with Corey Maggette, recent addition Tim Thomas and Aaron Williams

*Sacramento Kings – This team has a new coach in Eric Musselman and gone are the Princeton passing clinics we came to love but there are still some very good players on this team and that includes the best overall defensive player in Ron Artest and point guard Mike Bibby. This team has plenty of depth along the front line with Shareef Abdur Rahim backing up Kenny Thomas and former Philadelphia 76er John Salmons should help on perimeter defense. Brad Miller is a very good center with the ability to shoot from the perimeter and Kevin Martin came out of nowhere last season to shoot 48 percent from the field and score 11 points. His sweet stroke needs to be even more involved this season and Bibby needs to attack the basket if the team has dreams of winning their division or getting a playoff spot.

Golden State Warriors – After almost a decade Don Nelson returns to Oakland for another up and down adventure. Nelson hopes to restore the brand of basketball made famous with Run-TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin) in the early to mid 1990's. They do so with similar pieces like Baron Davis, Mike Dunleavy, Jr and Jason Richardson. This team drafted Patrick O'Bryant but don't expect him to contribute right away! They have some players like Ike Diogu and Andres Biedrens who will be counted on for energy and Adonyl Foyle always is a big body for those teams who boast great big men like San Antonio and Houston but this team while more exciting will still be a season away (at least) from making waves in their division let alone their conference.

Northwest Division

This is Tony Parker. Stop worrying about who he dates and realize that he's one of the quickest guards and has two rings.

*San Antonio Spurs – This team is well coached and has talent at multiple positions. They found themselves looking outside the NBA Finals last season because of nagging injuries and the lack of defense on the Dallas players.They couldn't play zone defense with their big men Rasho Nestorovic and Nazr Mohammad so they let them go and picked up the athletic center Francisco Elson and small forward Eric Williams.

Both players can run and will be expected to provide Tim Duncan with some foul protection. Tony Parker is developing a better jumpshot to go with his blazing speed and Manu Ginobili just needs to stay healthy for this team to go back to the conference finals once again with the chance to win it all.

*Houston Rockets – Tracy McGrady needs to stay healthy and this team can go from missing the playoffs to possible making it to the conference championship. Yao Ming is starting to show the dominance most expected of him and the team added Shane Battier in the offseason, adding someone who can play the other teams best perimeter guy and also doesn't need the ball to be effective on offense. Rafer Alston will run the point and the team also picked up Bonzi Wells who should come off the bench and provide some scoring and defense.

Wells had a tremendous first round series versus the San Antonio and it led to him being a highly sort after free agent or so we thought. After months of no deals, Wells signed with Houston.

Juwan Howard is entering the end of his career but is still serviceable and Dikembe Mutombo is still working to pay for his hospital in Africa and will block a shot and grab some rebounds. Guard Luther Head looks to continue his good play in his second season and Bob Sura will provide backcourt depth as well. Stay healthy should be the motto of the team this season.

*Dallas Mavericks – The team made the NBA Finals last season but fell flat after going up 3-1 against the Miami Heat. Nowitzki played his best ball last season and was a MVP candidate as he will likely be this season.   He is flanked by the resigned Jason Terry, young point man Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and DeSagena Diop. Their bench was bolstered by the addition of forward Austin Croshere and point guard Anthony Johnson and having Erick Dampier coming off the pine is a big help especially in this division.

Let's face the facts: This team can score with anyone but it's important that they remember why they got to the finals which was their defense. If they continue to show that toughness on defense and play the drive and kick game there is no reason the team can make a repeat trip to the finals.

Memphis Grizzlies – This team is well coached but a early season injury to Pau Gasol and the overall youth of their bench may wrap their postseason plans up before they even get half way through the season. The team added Rudy Gay, a ultra-talented guard/forward from UConn but traded Shane Battier in the process, who was a great leader for them. The team will get good contributions at the point guard position with Chucky Atkins and the returning Damon Stoudamire and the sixth man of the 2005-06 season is back too in Mike Miller.  

Hakim Warrick will provide some energy at the 3or 4 positions and Eddie Jones while aging is still good for 12 points a game and respectable defense but it won't be enough in this tough division. I don't see them making a fourth straight playoff appearance.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets – The Hornets made some big news in the off-season signing Peja Stojakovic and trading for Tyson Chandler but I expect more teams to be prepared this season compared to last season when they surprised a lot of people. NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Paul is one for the future of basketball and David West is a nice power forward and Bobby Jackson is a former sixth man of the year winner but the rest of the team is experienced and even Peja is questionable in the clutch.

This team will miss Speedy Claxton and a veteran like forward/center PJ Brown because they calmed the rest of the team down. Rookie Cedric Simmons is a good player and will help on the defensive end. Head coach Bryon Scott will do a good job with this team making something out of little but if they get an key injury depth is a question

Southwest Division

An Early Favorite for Most Improved Player: Carlos Boozer

*Utah Jazz – This team has to stay healthy especially Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kiralenko to make the playoffs. The team has one of the best frontcourts in the league with Boozer, Kiralenko and Mehmet Okur and the young point guard Deron Williams showed improvement towards the end of the season. The team added 3-time champion Derek Fisher and he will help Williams and the team stay poised although head coach Jerry Sloan usually does a great job with that.

Matt Harpring is a good swing player because he can play three positions and is aggressive. Boozer will rebound from his sub-par campaign last season and many will talk about him being an all-star.

Denver Nuggets – Carmelo had a monster effort for Team USA (despite the bronze finish) and he looks to bring that same energy to the Nuggets. The team returns with a healthy big men in Kenyon Martin, Nene, Marcus Camby, Eduardo Naraja and recent addition Joe Smith. George Karl with hope recent addition J.R. Smith will add that 3-point game the team has been missing since Vashon Lenard.

Earl Boykins is a lightning fast point who is great just as a change of pace and Najera is a dirty work guy who can't be represented by numbers. Camby's play is the X-factor: If he can be a threat on offense and get those weakside blocks this team can win the division and challenge for more.   

Minnesota Timberwolves – Kevin Garnett is the Dan Marino of our time. He consistently puts up great hall of fame numbers but has little support and doesn't win. Garnett may have his best chance to win in a few years and it's because he has a few players in Ricky Davis and rookie Randy Foye who could help him with the offense while he anchors the defense. Eddie Griffin is a able defender who should start at the five spot and the team added Mike James, a capable scorer with championship experience. James will move Troy Hudson to the bench where he will be more comfortable.

Trenton Hassell is poor man's Ron Artest and can help on defense. Marko Jaric and Rashad McCants will look to improve on poor 2005-06 efforts marred with injuries. This team may be able to shock some teams but I don't see them being a playoff team. The team has problems with scoring on a consistent basis and the their big men off the bench are undersized and mediocre at best.

Seattle Supersonics – The Sonics took a step back last season not making the playoffs and will continue to fall backward because of their lack of depth. Their starting lineup of Ray Allen, Luke Ridnour, Rashard Lewis, Chris Wilcox and Johan Petro are ok but the bench only has two viable options in Damien Wilkens and Earl Watson. The rest of the players are projects at best.

Allen needs to get Iverson like for this team to make the playoffs but it's not in his nature. It may be time for a change of scenery for Allen who too nice of a guy not to play for a contender every year.

Portland Trailblazers – After the "Jailblazer" era ended in Portland the team began stockpiling draft picks and going young and that continues to this day. Zach Randolph is a very young leader on a team with none and he's going to be joined by rookie Brandon Roy, a polished rookie whom many compare to Ray Allen. Jarrett Jack is a good young point and he will get the keys to the team after they traded away Sebastian Telfair during the off-season and the team seems to have their center position stocked with Joel Przybilla and former all-star Jamaal Magloire. Juan Dixon is a smart defender who can slash to the basket as well and will come off the bench as a sixth man.

Darius Miles is very talented but is in the doghouse and won't get much time to play himself off the team. The team has some talented players but the lack of leadership will send them back to the lottery.

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