Best and Worst Case Scenarios for Every West Team

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Say Cheese: We take a look at the highlights (and lowlights) of NBA Media Day.

Best or Worst: What is the best and worst case scenario for each Western Conference team?

Fun Day: Yesterday was NBA media day! Fun dialogues about Jimmy Butler's hair and Zion Williamson's impressive build ran amuck! Here's the best moment's from the day:

No Fun Phoenix: Less fun moments happened in Phoenix. Questions of Robert Sarver permeated the air while Deandre Ayton seemed like he was being held hostage.

True or False: It's also a day of promises: of cohesion, ambition, and happiness with one's franchise. But which quotes should we buy? Bleacher Report thinks they have the answer.

With all that being said, here are the best and worst case scenarios for each team in the West. We’ll go in reverse order of last year’s regular season standings.

Houston Rockets

Best Case Scenario: Houston still probably doesn’t have the depth or veteran talent to make a leap from 15th seed to the play-in. So, in the best case scenario they win less than 30 games but Jabari Smith shows that he should’ve gone first overall and wins ROTY. Jalen Green makes a leap to 20ppg and becomes a league average three point shooter, and a few of their other young guys make themselves clearly a part of the Rockets’ future.

Worst Case Scenario: Jabari Smith is more of a De’Andre Hunter than a Paul George and can’t create his own offense. Jalen Green continues to be inefficient despite putting up volume numbers, and Kevin Porter Jr. takes shots away from the both of them. Still, they get a good pick next year!

Oklahoma City Thunder

Best Case Scenario: Although Chet Holmgren is out for the season, at least one of OKC’s two other lottery picks (Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams) makes an All-Rookie Team and cements themself as a key building block for the future. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander performs at an all-star level, but gets “injured” in the second half of the season so that OKC can still #TankForWebenyama.

Worst Case Scenario: Josh Giddey shows basically no scoring chops and SGA drags the team to 33 wins–too many for a high lottery pick but too few to make the play in. Having little help and demoralized by Chet Holmgren’s absence, the Shai trade request rumors begin to roll in…

Portland Trailblazers

Best Case Scenario: Damian Lillard is healthy and makes All-NBA First or Second Team and brings Portland to a top 6 seed. Josh Hart, Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Payton II, and Jerami Grant prove to be polished role players who complement Dame’s game and bring the Blazers to a finally-decent defense. Shaedon Sharpe takes on a Kuminga-esque role, having some very promising moments but doesn’t have high usage because the roster is so good. But, most importantly, Anfernee Simons is a top-3 Most Improved Player candidate and averages an efficient 20ppg.

Worst Case Scenario: Injuries nagg Dame and Nurkic, forcing Grant to take more of an on-ball scoring role, while the high-risk-high-reward Sharpe pick whiffs. After getting aggressive this offseason, the Blazers are in the lower half of the play-in.

Sacramento Kings

Best Case Scenario: The Fox and Sabonis pick and roll clicks now that it’s had time to marinate. Keegan Murray has an instant impact, and the Kings snag a lower play-in spot. The curse breaks!

Worst Case Scenario: Death, taxes, and the Kings missing the playoffs. The three guarantees in life! Fox and Sabonis are both not all stars and the Kings can’t compete with the other Western teams who have more firepower.

Los Angeles Lakers

Best Case Scenario: Um…not gonna lie we don’t know where to go with this one. We guess technically it's a championship? LeBron and AD each play 75+ games and look like their ceiling in 2020. With regards to Russell Westbrook, either he harnesses the positive aspects of his Wizards days or the Lakers find a suitable trade partner.

Worst Case Scenario: AD gets hurt again, and so LeBron is the only above-average rotation piece on the roster.

San Antonio Spurs

Best Case Scenario: VICTOR WEBENYAMA! Oh, and one of their current young guys makes a jump to prove he’s a legit part of the Spurs future.

Worst Case Scenario: They still finish as a bottom 5 team, but none of Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Josh Primo and Devin Vassell impresses, making this roster have zero long-term pieces before this upcoming draft.

Los Angeles Clippers

Best Case Scenario: CHIP SEASON! Kawhi Leonard and Paul George put together the Finals run we’ve been expecting for four years now. With a slew of high quality role players executing their objectives to perfection, they mow through the West and finally become the Kings of LA.

Worst Case Scenario: Injuries knock one of The Klaw or PG13 out in the playoffs and they fall to a tough Round 1 matchup. Even if healthy, they’re unable to withstand the high quality teams in the West, most likely falling AGAIN to some European maestro…

New Orleans Pelicans

Best Case Scenario: The hype is real. Brandon Ingram makes another all-star team and continues the elite shot making from last year’s playoffs. Zion Williamson, in his second full healthy season, makes his second All-NBA Team. They ride their combination of shot making, perimeter defense, and youthful energy to the second round of the NBA playoffs, falling in a gritty series to a true title contender.

Worst Case Scenario: While the team still has talent, there are too many mouths to feed and their offense looks clunky with no true point guard and a crowded paint. As a result, they get bounced in the play-in or snag an 8 seed.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Best Case Scenario: The KAT and Rudy Gobert experiment works as planned, with Towns making them an elite offense and the Stifle Tower making them an elite defense. Plus, Anthony Edwards becomes a top-3 Most Improved Player candidate, and this team has two, if not three, all stars. As a result, they are a top-3 seed in the West and lose respectably in the second round.

Worst Case Scenario: The Gobert move backfires and the offense is clunky and congested in the paint. Even if this season goes okay, and they snag a 6 or 7 seed, they will have given up the next 5+ years of their future for a play-in appearance. But let’s hope this experiment lasts longer than the last elite big man pairing…

Denver Nuggets

Best Case Scenario: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are healthy for most of the regular season and, most importantly, the playoffs! They obliterate their round 1 opponent, and show year-by-year progress by winning tough series in round 2 and the WCF. At long last, Jokic gets to prove his greatness on basketball’s biggest stage: the NBA Finals.

Worst Case Scenario: The returning duo isn’t quite themselves and consequently this roster is more of a repeat of last year than their previous WCF run.

Utah Jazz

Best Case Scenario: VICTOR WEBENYAMA ALSO!

Worst Case Scenario: They trade veterans like Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson for underwhelming returns. Plus, no single asset they received in exchange for Donovan Mitchell looks as promising as RJ Barrett, though in aggregate they might.

Dallas Mavericks

Best Case Scenario: The Luka Doncic MVP season finally comes to pass! They also recreate last year's magical run to the WCF with Spencer Dinwiddie filling in Jalen Brunson’s shot creation, and the new additions of Christian Wood and JaVale McGee fixing last year’s glaring hole at center.

Worst Case Scenario: There is nothing close to a second star on this team and it becomes apparent that Brunson’s playoff wonders propelled them as far as they went last season. Dallas gets a 6 seed and bounced in round 1.

Golden State Warriors

Best Case Scenario: We get trapped in a time loop and the Warriors keep winning championships forever. But if that doesn’t happen, then Klay approaches pre-injury caliber and Jonathan Kuminga takes a sizable jump to fill in Otto Porter’s role.

Worst Case Scenario: Steph misses 20+ games as Father Time grows stronger, and their defense declines with the losses of Gary Payton II, Otto Porter, and regression of Draymond Green. They get the 3 seed and bounced in round 2.

Memphis Grizzlies

Best Case Scenario: Last year essentially repeats but Ja Morant makes All-NBA First Team and Desmond Bane claims the title of second-best shooter in the entire NBA. Also, Jaren Jackson Jr stays healthy and wins the DPOY he seems destined to achieve. They make the WCF before falling to a team with more starpower.

Worst Case Scenario: Last year was a fluke. While Ja Morant is still great, he doesn’t develop his outside game and the rest of the Memphis role players come down to Earth. They fall to a 5 seed and a good 4 seed bounces them in round 1 in 7 games.

Phoenix Suns

Best Case Scenario: Despite the locker room issues, the personnel hasn’t changed from when Phoenix won 64 games a year ago. They are still the top seed in the West and make the Finals. Please don’t forget what this team was and still could be!

Worst Case Scenario: The wheels fall off the cart. Deandre Ayton is disinterested in Phoenix and demands a trade as soon as he is eligible, while they get a poor return for Jae Crowder. Plus, Chris Paul plays under 60 games and loses a step or two. Though Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker will help this team be a top 4 seed, they get upset in round 1 as unresolved issues rear their ugly head.

The Seven Biggest Questions as the NBA Opens for Business for the 2022-23 Season - Justin Verrier (The Ringer)

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Let's hope your favorite team has its best case scenario, and make today your best case scenario regardless! Peace out. Enjoy Basketball.

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: The last time an NBA game was played in Seattle was April 13th, 2008, when the Seattle Supersonics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 99-95. On that Mavericks team, two players went on to be NBA head coaches: Jason Kidd and Tyronn Lue. Shockingly, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse were also on the roster!

Trivia Question: Which four NBA players have recorded a quadruple double, and which of those four has done it twice?