NBA Preview: Northwest Division

(Teams listed in order of projected finish)

Utah Jazz: The Jazz were a bit of a surprise last year, as they went 51-31 and won their division for the first time since the days of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Carlos Boozer led the way, averaging 20.9 PPG and 11.7 RPG and managing to stay healthy for the most part. He played in 74 games; only 10 less than he played in his last two seasons combined. Boozer's inside presence made scoring easier for the rest of the team. Mehmet Okur shot a career high 38.4% from three-point range, while pouring in 17.6 PPG, and Deron Williams had an outstanding sophomore season, with 16.2 PPG and 9.3 APG. Derek Fisher provided some scoring and very good defense and he and Matt Harpring averaged double digits in scoring. Second round pick Paul Millsap provided a spark off the bench with his energy and rebounding. All these factors made up for poor play from Andrei Kirilenko, whose numbers were down across the board. First round pick Ronnie Brewer also struggled and left the Jazz with few options at shooting guard. Still, the Jazz were able to get to the Conference Finals, where they were defeated handily by the San Antonio Spurs. It should be noted that they had an easy road to the Conference Finals. They played a tough seven game series against Houston, which hasn't won a playoff series since Hakeem Olajuwon was their center, then they faced the upstart Warriors, who were over-matched by Utah's size.

Despite countless rumors about Kirilenko's future with the team, the Jazz didn't make any major moves in the off-season. The biggest change was the departure of Fisher, who was replaced by Ronnie Price and Jason Hart. Price and Hart will fight for the chance to back up Williams, as many of Fisher's minutes will likely go to Brewer and this year's first round pick, Morris Almond. Almond, a shooting guard out of Rice, was drafted primarily for his shooting ability; an area where the Jazz were sorely lacking last year.

This year's Jazz should be very similar to last year's edition. They will miss Fisher's defense and veteran leadership, but Brewer and Almond should be able to fill the void and provide better scoring. Williams can only be expected to improve, as he develops into one of the league's top point guards. Boozer and Okur should post similar numbers to last year's, though one has to wonder whether Boozer can stay healthy again. The X-factor on this team is Kirilenko, who supposedly has worked out his issues with Sloan. The problem with Kirilenko is not his mood, rather it's the way Sloan has been using him. Kirilenko has had his strongest seasons when he's been utilized in the paint on offense. It helps him on defense because he can roam and block shots, but it's particularly important on offense. Boozer's presence turns Kirilenko into a perimeter player, which takes him out of the game as a scorer and leads to his frustration. If Sloan can find ways to work Kirilenko back into the offense, and thus energize him on defense, the Jazz could take a step forward, but if not, they're not going to be able to match up with the West's elite teams.

Denver Nuggets: Already one of the fastest teams in the league last year, the Nuggets made a bid to get even faster, sending Andre Miller and others to Philadelphia for Allen Iverson. The Nuggets hoped that Iverson, combined with Carmelo Anthony, would give them enough star-power to break into the top tier of Western Conference teams. However, the team played worse after the trade and were ousted by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs after securing the 6th seed. The loss of Miller left Denver without a pure point guard until they dealt for Steve Blake, but even then the team struggled to find a winning formula. Iverson should not receive all the blame, as he was on his own for the first several games after the trade, as Anthony served a suspension for involvement in a fight at Madison Square Garden. Even when the two superstars did get to play together, they didn't have much time to develop chemistry before the playoffs. Outside of their two scorers, Denver's most valuable asset was their size. Marcus Camby and Nene gave them one of the top frontcourts in the league. Their biggest weakness was their three-point shooting, or lack thereof. J.R. Smith was their best shooter, but it was difficult to work him into the lineup, with Iverson and Blake as the starting guards and Anthony at small forward.

Rather than overpay for Blake, the Nuggets opted to let him go and replaced him with Chucky Atkins. While Atkins lacks Blake's passing ability, he is a better shooter and should benefit from the open looks generated by Iverson and Anthony. The only other move of note was the trade that sent Reggie Evans to Philadelphia for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones. Evans is an outstanding rebounder, but with Camby and Nene, plus Kenyon Martin coming back, Evans was expendable. Hunter is a solid backup center who excelled in Phoenix's fast-paced offense. He'll block a shot here and there and get a few dunks, but he probably won't log more than 10 minutes a game. At least, not until Camby, Nene, or Martin suffers an injury.

It's hard to know just how good the Nuggets can be, and clearly they don't know, based on their quiet off-season. Their defense will be a liability, as Nene is the only good defender in the starting lineup. (Yes, I know Camby won Defensive Player of the Year, but all that award signifies is he got a lot of rebounds and blocked shots. His man-to-man defense is average at best. That's why he didn't guard Tim Duncan in the playoffs.) For Denver, the best defense is a good offense, as they'll have to do their best to run their opposition out of the gym. Anthony is one of the best pure scorers in the league and Iverson is still one of the better ones (though one has to wonder when he'll finally break down), but the team would have done well to add more shooting. If Iverson and Anthony can figure out how to work off of each other and exploit defenses, then the Nuggets could take the division from Utah. More likely they will be a 6 or 7 seed once again.

Seattle Supersonics: The Sonics hoped they could shake off a disappointing 2005-06 season and revert to their form of three years ago, when they won 52 games and the division. Poor defense, rebounding, and several key injuries made sure that this would not occur. Both Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis averaged over 20 PPG, but neither was able to play more than 60 games. This left Seattle with relatively little on offense, relying on Chris Wilcox and Luke Ridnour. Even when Allen and Lewis were healthy, their scoring was offset by their lackluster defense. Meanwhile, Seattle's centers did not develop as they had hoped. Robert Swift showed signs in the pre-season, but suffered a season-ending injury before the regular season began, and Johan Petro and Mouhamed Sene were ineffective.

A 51-loss season, plus securing the second overall draft pick caused the Sonics to overhaul their roster, starting on draft night when the Sonics selected Kevin Durant, then turned around and dealt Allen to Boston for the fifth overall pick (Jeff Green), Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak. The drafting of Durant led to Lewis' departure, which is not a major loss considering Lewis' absurdly large contract and the fact that the Sonics had already resigned themselves to rebuilding. Seattle also traded for veteran Kurt Thomas, who will provide some rebounding and defense in the paint, which Seattle has lacked in recent years. More important is Thomas' expiring contract, which will give the Sonics more cap room at the end of the year, or a valuable trading chip as the trade deadline approaches. Seattle also made a coaching change, hiring P.J. Carlesimo who had served as an assistant with the Spurs for the last several years.

While this team is a few years away from being competitive, Seattle has an interesting group of young players. Durant is by far the most intriguing and all eyes will be on him to see how he develops. He is by far the most likely candidate to win Rookie of the Year (especially after Greg Oden's season-ending injury) and should be able to step right in and put up impressive scoring numbers. Green is another interesting prospect, whose game should translate better to the NBA than it did at Georgetown. West will get the chance to prove he can start every day at shooting guard, and he could be another key youngster for the Sonics. Don't expect many wins from this team, but they (or at least Durant) should be fun to watch.

Portland Trailblazers: Coming off a dismal 21-win season, the Blazers struggled, but appeared to have a bright future. Zach Randolph emerged as one of the best low-post scorers in the league, averaging 23.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG, Brandon Roy won Rookie of the Year, and LaMarcus Aldridge also had a promising rookie campaign. Even with those performances, the Blazers were too young and lacked the talent to be competitive and they landed in the lottery yet again. Their fortunes were transformed when they won the lottery and prepared to draft their next great big man.

The Blazers took Greg Oden with their first pick, then promptly traded Randolph to the Knicks for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. Francis was immediately bought out, but Frye has a little upside and would have been a good fit next to Oden. That said, the Blazers gave up a great talent in Randolph and got very little in return. Oden and Randolph might have had trouble playing together, but it's hard to believe that the Blazers couldn't get more for him (say, from Chicago). Portland added four players in the draft after Oden: Rudy Fernandez, Josh McRoberts, Petteri Koponen, and Taurean Green. Fernandez will remain in Europe for another year, but should help the Blazers upon arrival. Koponen will also stay abroad for now. McRoberts was a nice pick in the second round, but Green isn't likely to get much playing time, as the Blazers already have a lot of young guards. Portland also added Steve Blake to a now-crowded backcourt, and they acquired James Jones from Phoenix.

While there was talk of the playoffs in Portland after they won the draft lottery, these hopes were dashed when Oden was forced to undergo microfracture surgery. There's no telling whether he'll ever be the same, but the Blazers will have to carry on this season and hope for the best. They can still count on improvement from last year's rookies and they can use this season to get a sense of what the rest of their young players are worth. That said, Portland doesn't have much hope of contention this year and they are likely looking at another top 5 draft pick. The one potential silver lining to the Oden injury is that it could land Portland another future All-Star to play alongside their already impressive nucleus, but the franchise's future hinges on Oden's recovery.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Minnesota missed the playoffs for the second straight year, which ultimately spelled the end of the Kevin Garnett era. Garnett had a good season, though not one of his best, likely due to frustration. Randy Foye had an impressive rookie season once he began to get regular playing time and another rookie, Craig Smith proved to be a good energy player. Ricky Davis and Mark Blount were decent on offense, but lackadaisical on defense. Their biggest off-season addition, Mike James, turned out to be a bust. All in all it was a disappointing effort for the Timberwolves and it was clear that they were making the transition into rebuilding mode.

At 31, Garnett wanted no part of rebuilding and he was subsequently dealt to Boston for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and two first round draft picks. Minnesota also added Corey Brewer and Chris Richard through the draft. Later in the off-season, they traded Davis and Blount to Miami for Antonio Walker, Michael Doleac, and Wayne Simien. None of the players from that deal figure to play a prominent role in Minnesota's rebuilding efforts, but clearing the roster of Davis and Blount will give Minnesota's young players more minutes.

It's hard to know who will win the Garnett trade in the long run, but it does leave Minnesota with a number of intriguing young players. Foye should continue to develop into a good all-around combo guard, Jefferson is already one of the best young post players in the league, Gomes and Smith are both good energy players with some versatility, Green is a superb athlete with a great three-point shot, and Brewer is a defensive stopper with the potential to be a good scorer. If all, or at least a few, of these players develop as expected, the Timberwolves should have a very formidable core in a few years, especially considering they should have another top 5 draft pick this year. It's going to be a long season in Minnesota, but down the road they could be much better off without Garnett. Kevin McHale better hope that's the case or he'll be out of a job.