BY PAUL JONES
sportsnet.ca
Leading up to opening night on Oct. 26, sportsnet.ca NBA analyst Paul Jones gets you ready for the season by asking the burning questions surrounding each division.
In addition, Jones will wrap up the six division previews with a special analysis of both the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.
To start, Jones examines the Southwest Division.
Enjoy.
PJ: Always one of the most competitive divisions in the NBA, the Southwest will be once again as some of the teams that finished near the bottom last season improved and taking dead aim at playoff spots.
But as always there are questions that need to be answered and if teams can't figure out the solutions it may ultimately lead to downfall.
Can the supporting cast produce enough to supplement Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd?
There is no question who the leaders are in Dallas (Nowitzki and Kidd) and both have been producing regularly for years. But what about the play of Jason Terry, who had a sub-par season in 2009-10 and is looking to bounce back. Shawn Marion is also a year older and Caron Bulter is looking to play well enough to earn a new contract next season, be it in Dallas or somewhere else in the NBA. Those three have to find a way to do some scoring to help Nowitzki.
Hopefully for the Mavs, Rodrigue (Roddy) Beaubois has recovered from his off season hand injury to give Kidd enough of a break and limit the minutes on the 16 year veteran's body.
Dallas needs to become a better defensive team as they finished 15th last season in opponents field goal percentage and ranked 25th in rebounding. They are hoping those deficiencies will be addressed by shoring up the middle with the acquisition of Tyson Chandler and re-signing Brendan Haywood.
How will the Rockets play with Yao Ming's minutes being limited?
The Houston Rockets have already come out and said that the team will limit Yao's minutes to somewhere around 24 per game. So what does that do to the Rockets offense? What style will they play?
Rick Adelman is known for his motion offence and having his big men play on the elbow as distributors and capable jump shooters. Remember Chris Webber and Vlade Divac in Sacramento? How will that work when Yao is not a full time member of the offence? They can play that way when he is in the game and also use him as a low post threat as Yao is capable in any post area.
When Yao is not in the game, Adelman's offense will work just as well with Luis Scola and another former Sacramento King, Brad Miller. Look for the Rockets to take opportunity breaks and run as well with the likes of Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin.
The Rockets played well early last season but faded post all-star break. With Yao back, even in limited minutes, the Rockets are a playoff team.
After a year or low expectations and pleasant surprises can this young squad continue to improve?
There will be no sneaking up on teams this year by the Grizzlies. Last season nothing was expected of them and head coach Lionel Hollins had his young charges playing well enough to have his name in the Coach of the Year discussion into the middle portion of the season.
| Paul Jones: Predicted Order of Finish: | |
| 1. | San Antonio |
| 2. | Dallas |
| 3. | Houston |
| 4. | New Orleans |
| 5. | Memphis |
Hollins did a terrific job of defining roles last season and will have to do the same again in this campaign. Zach Randolph was rejuvenated with his scoring up front and Marc Gasol did the majority of the dirty work on the glass and defending the paint. Mike Conley needs to be more aggressive at the point to keep defenses honest. But then again, he does have capable scorers to pass to in Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo.
The addition of veteran Tony Allen who has valuable playoff experience will help a squad that finished just a game under .500 last season.
Young players often associate scoring with success but defence is the key for this team as they need to make a commitment to stopping opponents if they hope to be in the playoffs. Memphis finished in the bottom third of the league in opponents scoring, opponents field goal percentage, and opponents assists.
How long can they keep their foot in the door to keep their championship hopes alive?
So much for my prediction last season when I had the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, but hey, I just never count the Spurs out.
It sure looks like the Spurs are not only keeping their foot in the door that says "NBA Championship" on it, but they are trying, like the old time vacuum salesmen, to do everything they can to get past the door and stay for a while. But first, they need a few things to happen.
Richard Jefferson needs to improve on last season when he had career lows in three-point shooting percentage and scoring. Spurs brass are hoping that he makes the adjustment and becomes more comfortable in his second year.
Health is another issue as Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were banged up last season but with Parker in a contract year and both he and Ginobili sitting out this past summers World Championships, they should be ready to go.
The supporting cast led by the likes of George Hill, DuJuan Blair and two-time Euro-League MVP Tiago Splitter will have to play well to lessen the load on Tim Duncan.
What moves will the team make in an attempt to keep Chris Paul happy and have him remain a Hornet?
What's that old adage again? Oh yes, where there's smoke, there's fire. Reports had all-star guard Chris Paul wanting to be traded and then suddenly changing his tune after a meeting with management.
The initial trade rumours popped up when Paul saw two of his Olympic teammates (Chris Bosh and LeBron James) land in Miami with Dwayne Wade. You just knew he was wondering "Hmm, now there's an idea". It even came out in the "many a truth had been said in jest" category when there was a toast made at Carmelo Anthony's wedding about the two of them playing together at some point in the future amidst laughter from the assembled crowd.
So how does new General Manager Dell Demps handle this situation? Demps also has a new first time head coach Monty Williams running the show in the Crescent City to boot.
The Hornets went out and found some help for Paul acquiring Trevor Ariza from Houston and shored up the bench with the acquisition of Willie Green from Philadelphia. Former Raptor Marco Belinelli will get plenty of open looks playing along side Paul. With David West and Emeka Okafor up front, the Hornets have the tools to become a playoff team.
A post season berth and the uncertainty of a new Collective Agreement that may change the leagues competitive balance may be enough to keep CP3 in New Orleans.
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Poll
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Which team will win the Southwest?
