2009-2010 NBA Pacific Division Season Preview

Welcome to the best and most complete 2009-2010 NBA Pacific Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2009-2010 NBA Pacific Season Preview are the are the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.

The Pacific division last season produced the NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. Other then that, it brought everyone else lottery picks.

This division defines the wild wild west by having the best team in the league and having the worst team of the season… the Sacramento Kings.

Should we expect another Showtime cakewalk with the addition of Ron Artest? With Shaq back in the east, the Lakers won’t even have to break a sweat to win the Pacific division title. I guess the only other slightly interesting thing will be can anyone else in this division make the playoffs.

2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers Season Preview

Well, they (he) did it. Last year the Lakers went 65-17 to win the Pacific Division, disposed of Utah, Houston and Denver to win the West, then ousted Orlando in the Finals to win their first league title of the post-Shaq era. Los Angeles also managed to go 43-39 against the point spreads, which is tough to do for a team favored almost every time out. Breaking it down, the Lakers won 30 of the 32 games in which they were double-digit favorites outright, but could only go 13-19 ATS, because the bench turned several late 20-point leads into single-digit victories. And they went 11-1 7 vs the point spreads when chalked by 10 points or more at Staples Center. But that’s nitpicking. L.A. was simply solid all around, ranking fourth in the league in shooting, sixth in FG defense and fifth in rebounding. Then, this off-season, they may have gotten better. Say what we will about Kobe Bryant (27 PPG), but he’s just a fantastic player with real grit, one of the very few players who can put a team on his back and carry it places. C Pau Gasol (19 PPG. 10 RPG) is a nice complement in the middle, PG Derek Fisher makes big shots and wins with experience, and the re-signed Lamar Odom and C Andrew Bynum (26 PPG, 16 RPG together) provide good support up front. On top of it all. L.A. signed F Ron Artest (17 PPG) away from Houston this summer. Add it up, and the Lakers are the favorites to win it all again this season.

(Los Angeles Lakers -120 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Los Angeles Lakers 2009-2010 Season Preview – Los Angeles Lakers 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Phoenix Suns Season Preview

The Suns went 46-36 last year and missed the playoffs for just the third time in the last 20 years. They messed with their team chemistry when they traded G Raja Bell and F Boris Diaw in December, then dumped coach Terry Porter in February, going 18-13 after Alvin Gentry took over. They also went just 35-44 vs the point spreads, and Suns games averaged 217 points – second-most in the league. Phoenix played more overs (47) than any other team. The Suns still led the league in scoring and FG shooting (at just better than 50%), but ranked 22nd in FG defense and 27th in opponents scoring. The big news this off-season was the trade that sent C Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland, ending that experiment. G Steve Nash is now 35, and is losing some of his magic. F Grant Hill may have played in every game, but also posted his lowest season scoring average (12 PPG). And G Jason Richardson didn’t play up after coming over in the Bell-Diaw trade. With Shaq gone, former Arizona Wildcat Channing Fry looks like the new starter at center. The Suns still own F Amare Stoudemire (21 PPG, 8 RPG). Phoenix can field a pretty good starting five, but it drops off from there. Gentry will go back to the up-tempo game the Suns ran so well under coach Mike D’Antoni. But this isn’t the East, where .500 might get you into the playoffs. In the West, they’ll have to hustle just to earn one of the lower-rung seeds.

(Phoenix Suns +2500 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Phoenix Suns 2009-2010 Season Preview – Phoenix Suns 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Season Preview

Golden State Warriors Season Preview Three years ago, after a decade of incompetence, the Warriors finally again made the playoffs, and made a splash by upsetting top-seeded Dallas in a first-round series before bowing out in the conference semis, In 2007-08, Golden State won six more games than it did the previous season, but missed the playoffs, So hopes for another exciting spring were high going into last season, Instead, the Warriors tanked, going 29-53, The problems began before last season even started, when PG Manta Ellis mysteriously sprained his ankle in August. He didn’t even play until late January, and by then, the season was a lost cause, Golden State won just eight road games all year, and while they ranked second in the league in scoring, they gave up more points than any other team, ranked 23rd in FG defense, and dead last in rebounding, With the Warriors playing the highest-scoring games in the league, averaging 221 points, the totals went 43-38, Ellis, SG Stephen Jackson (21 PPG), SF Corey Maggette (19 PPG) and 3-man Kelenna Azubuike (14 PPG, 45% from long range) can all throw the ball in the hole, While GS traded G Jamal Crawford this off season, they got Stephen Curry (who led D-I in scoring last year) with the seventh pick in the draft, Of course, this team’s problems remain at the other end of the court, Coach Don Nelson needs 24 more W’s to take over the top spot on the all-time coaching wins list. And he’ll get that this year, The question is whether they’ll win enough to contend far a playoff spot.

(Golden State Warriors +5000 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Golden State Warriors 2009 Season Preview – Golden State Warriors 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Los Angeles Clippers Season Preview

Los Angeles Clippers Season Preview Four years ago, the Clippers thought they had broken through when they won their first postseason series since moving to California. After that, though, they quickly reverted back to being the same old lame Clippers. Last year, the lesser Los Angeles team went 19-03 to finish 46 games behind their hometown rivals. The Clippers also went just 32-50 vs the point spreads, which tied Washington for the worst ATS record in the league. And even though their games played to a very average 199 points, only three teams played more overs last year than the Clippers’ 46. L.A. won just eight road games, as they were the worst shooting team in the league. They also ranked 24th in FG defense and 28th in rebounding. But, all that ineptitude earned them enough ping-pong balls in the lottery to win the first pick in the draft, which they used on Oklahoma F Blake Griffin. PG Baron Davis struggled in his first season with the team, but he should be better this year. He teams with SG Eric Gordon (16 PPG as a rookie) to form a decent starting backcourt. Third-year man Al Thornton (17 PPG) starts at SF, Griffin is expected to take over the four spot, and veterans Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby (22 PPG, 19 RPG combined) will anchor the middle. The Clippers bolstered the bench by essentially trading Zach Randolph for G Sebastian Telfair and F’s Craig Smith and Mark Madsen. L.A. will likely be better this year simply because of Griffin’s presence. But a playoff appearance is probably asking too much.

(Los Angeles Clippers +5000 to win the NBA championship at BetUS)

Los Angeles Clippers 2009-2010 Season Preview – Los Angeles Clippers 2009 Season Schedule

2009-2010 Sacramento Kings Season Preview

Five years ago, Sacramento won 50 games for a fifth straight season. Last year’s edition of the Kings went 17-65, the worst record in the league and worst season in the franchise’s 60-year history. They ranked 25th in the league in FG shooting, 29th in rebounding and dead last in FG defense, They also went 38-44 vs the point spreads. But, as Kings games averaged 210 points, fifth-most in the league, the totals evened out at 41-41. So Sacramento had the most ping-pong balls in the draft lottery, but only got the fourth pick, which became Memphis G Tyreke Evans. Evans may start at the point right away this season. SG Kevin Martin (25 PPG, 42% from 3-point range) is the best player on the team, but he has little in the form of veteran help. F Jason Thompson (11 PPG, 7 RPG) showed well as a rookie last year, and tops the depth chart at the four spot. Third-year man Spencer Hawes (11 PPG, 7 RPG) is the starter at center. Fourth-year PG Beno Udrih and sixth-year SF Andres Nocioni round out the starting lineup. In an attempt to provide depth, the Kings signed F Sean May, who’s been a total bust since being taken at 13th overall four years ago. They also got skilled Israeli F Omri Casspi at #23 overall in the draft. New head coach Paul Westphal has a major rebuilding project on his hands. While the Kings can say they’re one of the youngest teams in the league, they may also still be the worst.