2009-2010 NBA Northwest Division Season Preview

Welcome to the best and most complete 2009-2010 NBA Northwest Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2009-2010 NBA Northwest Season Preview are the are the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz.

There are many reasons for NBA fans to take an interest in the Northwest Division this season with several intriguing story lines. For instance, will the Utah Jazz go with Carlos Boozer as its starting power forward, or will it opt for up-and-comer Paul Millsap, thereby making Boozer expendable, and trade bait? Can Chauncey Billups continue where he left off last season with the winning leadership and mentality he showed with Denver? Will Portland’s Greg Oden improve into a top NBA center like they anticipated and help the raising Trailblazers? Can big men, Al Jefferson and Kevin Love coexist in Minnesota and become a poor man’s twin towers? Will Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook become a true point guard and help out young scoring superstar Kevin Durant?

2009-2010 Denver Nuggets Season Preview

Thanks to the best in-season move of the year, the Nuggets went 54-28 last season, won the Northwest Division and their first two playoff series in 15 years, and got closer to the NBA Finals than they had in 30 years. After getting rid of Allen Iverson and bringing home Chauncey Billups just a week into the season, Denver went 52-25 (and 8-2 in the first two rounds of the playoffs) and pushed the Lakers to 2-2 in the conference finals before running out of gas. In showing a mark of an all-around good team, the Nuggets ranked fifth in the league in FG shooting and fourth in FG defense. They also went 44-37 vs the point spreads. And as Denver games averaged 205 points, seventh-most in the league, the totals went 42-40. This off-season, other than some tinkering on the bench, the Nuggs didn’t do a whole lot. But then again, they didn’t really need to. PG Billups (19 PPG, 6 APG) runs the show. F Carmelo Anthony (23 PPG, 7 RPG) is the star. And the supporting cast is solid, with SG J.R. Smith (15 PPG, 40% from beyond the arc) providing a deep threat and Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen (33 PPG, 20 RPG together) manning the front line. They added North Carolina PG Ty Lawson, the 18th pick in the draft, in a draft-day trade. The Nuggets have many of the pieces in place. Now they’ve got to prove last year wasn’t just lightning in a bottle.

(Denver Nuggets +400 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Denver Nuggets 2009-2010 Season Preview – Denver Nuggets 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview

After five years without a playoff berth, the Blazers awoke last year to go 54-28 and reach the postseason. There, they lost to Houston in six games in the first round, so they haven’t won a playoff series now in a decade. But the feeling is that drought will soon end. Portland gave its financial backers a good feeling last year, going 45-36 vs the point spreads. The Blazers ranked eighth in the league in FG shooting, fourth in 3-point shooting. and led the league in rebounding margin at +5.4 per game. And they turned the Rose Garden back into one of the toughest places to play in the league, losing just seven home games last season. Brandon Roy (23 PPG) has quickly asserted himself as one of the best off guards in the league, and fellow fourth-year man LaMarcus Aldridge (18 PPG, 8 RPG) is coming right along. C Greg Oden played 61 games in his unofficial rookie season last year, although Joel Przybilla (9 RPG) is still the starter in the middle. But the Blazers are a bit thin up front, and rookies Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph may split the reserve time behind Aldridge at the four spot. While Portland missed out on adding Hedo Turkoglu or Paul Millsap this summer, they may have pulled a coup in signing PG Andre Miller (16 PPG, 7 APG for Philly). The Blazers are once again in the mix in the West, and the addition of Miller, and a fully healthy Oden, could get them into the deeper regions of the postseason.

(Portland Trail Blazers +700 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Portland Trail Blazers 2009-2010 Season Preview – Portland Trail Blazers 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Utah Jazz Season Preview

Despite injuries that nagged two of their most important players last year, the Jazz had a chance to earn a decent seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Unfortunately, they finished on a 2-7 slide, dropped to the eight seed, and were quickly disposed of by the eventual champion Lakers in the first round. They didn’t do their financial backers any great favors, either, going 39-43 against the point spreads. Offensively, Utah did its best work close to the hoop, ranking third in the league in FG shooting, while only 27th in 3-point shooting. At the other end of the court the Jazz were only average, ranking 20th in FG defense. PF Carlos Boozer was limited to just 37 games last year because of a knee injury, and most of the off-season news surrounding this team was the discussion about his future. Boozer was mentioned in trade talks all summer, but as of late August nothing had happened. With an eye toward his departure, Utah matched Portland’s pricey proffer to backup F Paul Millsap (14 PPG, 9 RPG). Deron Williams (19 PPG. 11 APG) is one of the top point guards in the league, and will be happy to play without that sore ankle that bothered him most of last year. The Jazz also re-signed C Mehmet Dkur (17 PPG, 8 RPG), so if Boozer stays, Utah can still field a nice big three. If that’s the case, the Jazz can compete for a top-four seed in the West. If not, they probably won’t.

(Utah Jazz +1200 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Utah Jazz 2009-2010 Season Preview – Utah Jazz 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview

From 1996 through 2005, the Timberwolves made eight straight playoff appearances. They’ve yet to return. Last year, Minnesota stumbled to 24-58, and they’ve won a total of 46 games since trading away F Kevin Garnett. The big blow last year came when C Al Jefferson went down and out for the season in February with a torn ACL. The Wolves went 7-25 after that. Minnesota has fired two coaches since the start of last year, and finally found a new one when they hired Kurt Rambis this July. But he’s got work to do with this outfit, which ranked 29th in FG shooting last year and 26th in FG defense. While Jefferson (23 PPG, 11 RPG), if healthy, can be a one-man wrecking crew, forwards Ryan Gomes (13 PPG, 5 RPG), and Kevin Love (11 PPG, 9 RPG) are only adequate at the moment. And Corey Brewer also suffered an ACL tear last year and only played 15 games. Minnesota traded G Randy Foye (16 PPG) and F Mike Miller to Washington, and also dealt Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair to the Clippers for what became C Mark Blount. But by the time you read this, Blount could be gone, too. The Timberwolves had four first-round draft picks, and took point guards with the first three, although they traded #18 Ty Lawson immediately. And as of late August they were still working on buying out Ricky Rubio’s Spanish league contract. Minnesota has some young talent, but this team is at least a couple of years away from competing for a playoff spot.

(Minnesota Timberwolves +5000 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Minnesota Timberwolves 2009-2010 Season Preview – Minnesota Timberwolves 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Oklahoma City Thunder Season Preview

The Thunder went 23-59 last year and fished last in the Northwest Division. But considering they started 4-29. their 19-30 finish should give them reason for hope. Oklahoma City struggled on the road, going 8-33 on the hotel circuit. But, as a consistent double-digit road dog, they went 24-1 6 ATS. Overall, the Thunder went 46-34 vs the point spreads; only Orlando, Cleveland and the Knicks were kinder to their financial backers. OKC ranked just 26th in FG shooting and 27th in FG defense, but ninth in free-throw shooting and a very respectable seventh in rebounding margin. There is potential here, with SF Kevin Durant (25 PPG, 7 RPG), PF Jeff Green (17 PPG, 7 RPG) and PG Russell Westbrook (15 PPG, 5 APG). Green is 23, and Durant and Westbrook will both turn 21 this fall. So it’s all upside with that threesome. However, their supporting cast needs work, or an upgrade, especially in the middle. It might be interesting to see how PF D.J. White, the 29th pick in the draft last year, comes back after having surgery on his jaw and missing almost all of his rookie season. And G James Harden, the #3 overall draft pick this spring, could start immediately at the two spot, because OKC discarded veteran guards Damien Wilkins and Earl Watson this summer. The switch in coaches last year from P.J. Carlesimo to Scott Brooks seemed to help the disposition of this team. The next step here is to contend for a playoff spot, and that could happen this season.