Pacific Division Preview

Lebron and the Lakers vs the almighty Warriors will determine who wins this division. The Lakers are very intriguing on where they will finish in the conference. We have the worst team in the west here and an up and coming team as well. This will be an exciting one to talk about and we only have one more to go until we can sit back and see how the season plays out.

Sacramento Kings: We start with a team in turmoil from the personal on the court all the way up to the owner. The Kings have made many draft day blunders and free agent signings, and this year will show that they need to consider tanking as bad as the Atlanta Hawks will. Marvin Bagley Jr. will put up good stats, the problem is Head Coach Dave Joerger has too many big men that he feels he needs to give minutes to. When does it come to a point that the writing is on the wall not to play Kosta Koufos and Zach Randolph over Willie Cauley-Stein, Bagley, Harry Giles and Skal Labissiere. When the Kings coaching staff figures this out then this season will be a success. Until then, this team will go 20-62 and will look to take advantage of being the only team in the league with cap space heading into the season and is trying to take on a bad contract to knab an asset in a Jimmy Butler trade that will happen.

Phoenix Suns: After not drafting Luca Doncic first overall and potentially could have brought the house down with the potential backcourt. Instead the Suns look to turn DeAndre Ayton into the next Anthony Davis. This will be a tall task, but the sheer athleticism and skills Ayton possess leads to believe this guy is the real deal and will help the Suns in a position of dire need they have been missing for too long. Besides future All-Star Devin Booker the Suns have a luxury at the small forward and Power Forward position with the likes of Josh Jackson, TJ Warren and newly signed Trevor Ariza to help provide rebounding, defense and for Jackson a do it all type of player that can really get out and run on the fast break. This Suns team will improve from last season and will be a team on the rise with a record of 30-52.

Los Angeles Clippers: After DeAndre Jordan is moved on to Dallas, Lob city is just a distant memory. This roster is left with expiring contracts and what will they do with Tobias Harris as the only exciting thing with this team. Butler has acknowledged he would like to be traded to the Clippers due to having the cap space to sign him to a large extension that Butler is seeking. Owner Steve Balmer should offer anybody on the roster besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and try hard to recruit Kawai Leonard in order to convince him to leave Toronto is the shot for this franchise to have the cornerstone players it needs to get back to relevance. In the meantime, expect a 32-50 record with players who are proud veterans that won’t lose as much as the roster says it will.

Los Angeles Lakers: It’s all Lebron all the time with the Lakers this season. In a tough western conference Lebron will make the Lakers better and lead them back to the playoffs. Lonzo Ball couldn’t be a better running mate with Lebron. With the combination of size, speed, passing ability, court awareness, rebounding for his position and an elite athlete this will be fun to see how they will co-exist on the floor together. Former second overall pick Brandon Ingram will have to step up and take a big role to show that he was worth the pick that was used on him as the Lakers are counting on a big season from him. With a record of 50-32 a second-round playoff exit this will be a successful season as the front office has made great moves to help the salary cap moving forward to get one more All-Star to go with this roster and push for a future championship.

Golden State Warriors: Not much has changed for the defending champs, the big players took less money, so they can stay together setting up an interesting summer where Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be free agents by season’s end. Nothing will stop team this coming season, nobody can beat them in a seven-game series unless multiple key players get hurt. DeMarcus Cousins will be a force once he is back after the All-Star break causing this team to look like they might not be able to drop a game. Expect the Warriors to cruise to a 62-20 record while having a pretty easy postseason beating the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and demolishing the Celtics in five games to win four titles in five seasons.