The NBA season is around the corner and in the western conference the Southwest Division is stacked with talent, as the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans all made the playoffs last season. These teams all made at least one significant move this summer and this will be one division to keep an eye on this year.
The Rockets won the division by a close margin last season and made a run to the western conference finals against the Warriors. The team finished one game ahead of the Grizzlies and the Spurs and things went down to the wire to see how the playoff seeds would shake out. The Mavericks finished six games back and also made the playoffs, while the Pelicans won 45 games and earned the eighth spot in the playoffs.
Here is a look at the teams in the division:
Houston Rockets
The Rockets have James Harden back after a near-MVP season and he could be one of the frontrunners again for the award. The team added Ty Lawson in a trade and kept Patrick Beverley in free agency and that should help things after the point guard dealt with injuries last season. Dwight Howard is healthy coming into the season and he is expecting to have a big season. The Rockets could be primed for the trade deadline depending on how the season develops and they should be in the mix at the top of the division again.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are the division favorites this year and they made one of the biggest splashes in free agency by adding LaMarcus Aldridge. The team now has a future core of Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, who signed a lucrative contract extension over the summer. The team still has the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as Gregg Popovich tries to give the veterans one more run to the finals. The Spurs are being looked at as favorites to get to the finals from the west.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have been a solid team for a number of years now and the main priority this summer was keeping Marc Gasol. The team was able to sign back Gasol and he never really had any desire to leave Memphis and now he is back. The core of the team with Mike Conley, Gasol and Zach Randolph expects to make another run this year and having Gasol back in the fold gives the team a chance.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks could see the Pelicans sneak past them this season after some of the talent they lost, but the team still has the chance to make some noise in the west. The DeAndre Jordan situation was tough for Mark Cuban, but the Mavs still have Wesley Matthews and they are hoping that he can get on the court early in the regular season. The team traded for Zaza Pachulia and added Samuel Dalembert and JaVale McGee as free agents and those players collectively can help make up for Jordan bolting back to the Clippers.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are an intriguing team to watch, as the team took a step forward by making the playoffs last year and Anthony Davis is continuing to develop into one of the best players in the league. Davis is an MVP candidate and the team kept Norris Cole, which should help with Tyreke Evans starting the season with an injury. Davis has the chance to continue pushing the Pelicans and this year he could take another major step.
Prediction: Spurs win division over Rockets. Houston, Memphis Grizzlies and Pelicans make playoffs. Mavericks finish just outside the top eight in the conference.
