2010-2011 NBA Northwest Division Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

2010-2011 NBA Northwest Division Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

2010 NBA Northwest Division Preview Welcome to the best and most complete 2010 NBA Northwest Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2010-2011 NBA Northwest Season Preview are the are the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz.

The Northwest division boasts what could arguably be two of the best shooting guards in the West, behind LA’s Kobe Bryant. The Blazers’ Brandon Roy and upstart Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant. Of course, there is still a sizable threat that will come from Denver Nuggets, but I am afraid the attention that surrounds whether or not Carmelo Anthony will remain in a Nugget uniform all year is still a major question, and leaves team with an uncertain future. However, the Blazers are older now and with Roy’s leadership should get even better this season. Finally, the Thunder with Scott Brooks as coach and Durant could still go further in the playoffs, as I don’t see any reason they can’t build on last year’s success. The Northwest will be a battle between two young up-and-coming teams, the Thunder and Blazers.

2010 Denver Nuggets Season Preview

For most of last season, Denver looked like the team most likely to give the Lakers a run in the Western Conference playoffs, but things changed when Coach Karl left the bench to deal with a serious health issue and F Kenyon Martin hurt his knee. Eventually, the Nuggets lost in the first round of the playoffs to Utah. Denver ranked 10th in shooting at almost 47% and 14th in FG defense at just under 46%, but only 22nd in rebounding. The Nuggets also went just 34-42 ATS. Despite Denver games averaging 209 points, fourth-most in the league, they only went 38-44 on the totals. As of late August, F Carmelo Anthony (28 ppg) was still a Nugget, but it appeared that might change. If it does, who knows what might happen with this outfit. PG Chauncey Billups is coming off a fine season, but he’ll be 34. Martin, C Nene and F Chris Andersen are all coming off knee surgery. In remedy, Denver signed F Al Harrington. Coach Karl returns this fall and if all goes well, the Nuggets could again contend for a top-four seed in the West. There’s also a good chance this team will get blown up.

Denver Nuggets Odds: +3000 to win the NBA Championship at BetUS

Denver Nuggets 2010 Season Preview – Denver Nuggets 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview

In its first season under Coach Rambis last year, Minnesota won 15 games and labored through losing streaks of 15 and 16 games, as the post-Garnett woes continued. The young Timberwolves ranked 25th in shooting at less than 45%, 25th in FG defense (allowing foes to shoot 48%) and 20th in rebounding, all in going 36-44 ATS. While Wolves games averaged 206 points, seventh-most in the league, their totals played 3843. This team has gone through a huge turnover in the last year and a half, not necessarily for the better. This offseason, they traded leading Scorer Al Jefferson and others, bringing in Fs Michael Beasley and Martell Webster and G Luke Ridnour. G Corey Brewer and F Kevin Love (14 ppg/11 rpg) are the holdovers of the starting lineup, and Minnesota will now depend upon Darko Milicic to fill the middle. They took F Wesley Johnson with the fourth overall pick in the draft, but PG Jonny Flynn (13.5 ppg as a rookie last year) had hip surgery in July and he might not be back until December. Minnesota shouldn’t be as bad as last year. but they still might not win 20 games.

Minnesota Timberwolves Odds: +20000 to win the NBA Championship at BetUS

Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Season Preview – Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Oklahoma City Thunder Season Preview

In their second season in Oklahoma, the Thunder jumped from 23 wins to 50 last year, made the playoffs and gave the eventual league champion Lakers a good fight before falling in the first round. Suddenly, OKC is a player in the West. The Thunder ranked 14th in shooting at 46% but, importantly, seventh in FG defense (holding foes under 45%) and sixth in rebounding at +2.8 per game. OKC also went 48-34 ATS, including 26-15 ATS on the road. They won’t be a sleeper this year, so don’t expect similar numbers. While the Thunder went 44-36 on the totals, their games averaged 200 points, only slightly above league average. SF Kevin Durant (30 ppg) is already a scoring champion, PG Russell Westbrook (16 ppg/8 apg) is quickly becoming one of the better players at his position and F Jeff Green (15 ppg/6 rpg) does the things that don’t show up in the boxscores. OKC hopes it filled a couple of holes when it added 6-foot-10 F Cole Aldrich with the 11th pick in the draft and signed 3-point shooter Daequan Cook. The goal now for the Thunder is to earn a top-four seed in the playoffs to benefit from a thunderous home crowd.

Oklahoma City Thunder Odds: +1200 to win the NBA Championship at BetUS

Oklahoma City Thunder 2010 Season Preview – Oklahoma City Thunder 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview

Portland struggled through a slew of injuries to win 50 games last season, before running out of gas and losing to Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs. With G Brandon Roy, C Greg Oden and others missing significant court time, the Blazers ranked 15th in FG shooting at 46%, 15th in FG defense at 46% and seventh in rebounding at +2.1 per game. Consistently underestimated, Portland went 45-35 ATS, including a nifty 25-14 ATS on the road. Also, despite Blazers games averaging 193 points (third-fewest in the league) they played the totals 43-38. This season, Portland should contend for the Northwest Division title. Roy (21.5 ppg) is a budding star, PF LaMarcus Aldridge is coming off his best season as a pro (18 ppg/8 rpg), and the supporting cast is solid. The Blazers signed C Marcus Camby to an extension, insurance for the fragile Greg Oden, who’s supposedly ready to go. On the downside, PG Andre Miller is 34, C Joel Przybilla is coming off two surgeries on the same knee and F Rudy Fernandez wants out. Still, if Portland can just get full, healthy seasons from its top players, they could be dangerous.

Portland Trail Blazers Odds: +2500 to win the NBA Championship at BetUS

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

2010 Utah Jazz Season Preview

Utah chased down Denver to finish in a tie for first place in the Northwest Division last year, then dispatched of the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. But, for the third straight season, the Jazz got knocked out of the postseason by the Lakers. Coach Sloan’s troops ranked second in shooting at 49%, eighth in FG defense at 45% and fifth in rebounding at +3 per game, helping them go 49-30 ATS. This offseason, Utah took a hit when F Carlos Boozer left for Chicago, as did reserve F Kyle Korver and G Ronnie Brewer. In an effort to fill those holes, Utah traded for C Al Jefferson (17 ppg/9 rpg last – year with Minnesota) and signed G Raja Bell. PG Deron Williams (19 ppg/10.5 apg) is one of the best in the league at his position, and C Mehmet Okur and Fs Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap combined to average 37 points and 19 boards per game. The Jazz used the No.9 pick in the draft on Butler F Gordon Hayward. With the moves to counter the losses, Utah figures to again contend for a top-four seed in the West playoffs.