After the Nuggets, Bucks, and Celtics, the four next best teams are probably coming out of the Pacific Division. The Warriors and Lakers were in play-in territory for most of last year but it’s safe to assume they will be much improved this season. The Suns could end up as the league’s best offense after their acquisition of Bradley Beal. The Kings seem to have turned a corner thanks to Domantas Sabonis’s bully ball and De’Aaron Fox’s historic clutch-time shooting. The Clippers are, well, the Clippers. They were my pick to win the title last year, but they are never healthy. This division is going to be a bloodbath and who will win it is anyone’s guess.
Golden State Warriors
2022-2023 record: 43-28
This one is tough. On one side Andrew Wiggins is healthy and should play considerably more minutes. Chris Paul, if healthy, should be able to spell Steph Curry and allow the Warriors to stop hemorrhaging points in non-Curry minutes. Jordan Poole’s absence should be an addition by subtraction. His presence in that locker room clearly made things uncomfortable for everyone and by all accounts was the primary source of the team’s overall misery. That misery probably found its way onto the court and affected the team’s ability to play as one. All of those things point to the over.
On the other hand, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody have been nothing short of disappointing. They’ve shown flashes, Kuminga more so than Moody, but it’s evident Kerr doesn’t fully trust either of them. Klay Thompson is a shell of himself and the team’s unwillingness to hand him a golden parachute could affect his mood and play. CP3 is an injury waiting to happen. When, and not if, he suffers some sort of nagging injury, who will man the second unit? Offensively, they are at their best playing small but rebounding and rim defense will suffer as a result. Ultimately, I think preserving Steph Curry is their number one priority and it will come at the expense of regular season wins.
Prediction: 45-37
Phoenix Suns
2022-2023 record: 45-37
On paper, this team makes zero sense. The Nuggets tore through them like a hot knife through butter. They lacked point of attack defense and rim protection. Bradley Beal does nothing to help in either department. DeAndre Ayton quit on the team and his departure was not based on talent. No one can argue that Nurkic is better at basketball than Ayton. The Suns are hoping Nurkic will be willing to do the work in the trenches Ayton simply refused to do due to his ego and overall disdain for the organization. Even so, Nurkic is not a poster child for health. This team will undoubtedly disappoint when the postseason kicks off.
There are a handful of teams that should be able to make life difficult for them and exploit their weaknesses. They are fortunate that some of those teams don’t value the regular season and the rest of the league won’t have the firepower to outscore them on most nights. They should coast to the over in the regular season before losing in 6 in the first round of the playoffs.
Prediction: 54-28
LA Clippers
2022-2023 record: 44-38
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three times, well, shame on me. On paper, the Kawhi/PG combo is devastating. Teams around the league would love to have a versatile wing that can play lockdown defense and be the go to player on offense. The Clippers have two of them. They should be devastating on defense and matchup nightmares on offense. Unfortunately, they simply cannot stay healthy. It’s a shame and the team around them is worse than it has been in recent years. Marcus Morris looks done. They were so desperate for guard play they brought in the likes of John Wall and Russell Westbrook. They’ll probably end up trading for James Harden but I simply have to see it all come together for an extended period of time before I drink the Kool-Aid again.
That being said, if everything breaks right for this team, they could probably contend for a title. There isn’t a team in the league with the type of wing defenders that could slow them down. They, alongside the Kyrie/Harden/KD Nets, will go down as one of the biggest what-if teams ever. As a basketball fan, I hope they can give it one last run.
Prediction: 44-38
LA Lakers
2022-2023 record: 43-29
Alongside the Warriors and Nuggets, the Lakers are part of a group of teams that simply have no reason to care about the regular season. At full health, they can beat anyone on the road. LeBron won’t be intimidated by having to play a game 7 on the road. Their first, second, and third priority will be to ensure that Bron and AD are healthy when the postseason comes around. Rob Pelinka has pulled off some decent moves to help improve the talent around their two best players. Austin Reaves is a delight. Rui Hachimura single-handedly won them some games in the postseason. Their overall depth is better and that has turned this team into a legit title contender.
LeBron will sit, either because of injury or load management. Same for Anthony Davis. Ideally, they won’t go without both players at the same time for any extended period of time. They can, however, survive an extended absence from either Bron or AD. That will ensure they are firmly in the playoff picture but that is good enough for this team. They have nothing to gain from putting unnecessary mileage on their stars.
Prediction: 46-36
Sacramento Kings
2022-2023 record:48-34
Mike Brown has instilled a new culture. The “Light the Beam” movement was real, and it helped rally that city and its fans. Domantas Sabonis played like a man possessed with essentially one hand. De’Aaron Fox, notorious for his inefficient shooting, turned into a sniper late in games. They were truly one of the league’s best stories last season, and yet, I’m not sure I buy it.
As we mentioned earlier, the Warriors and Lakers were down bad last season due to injury. Other teams around them were in flux. The West should look a lot different this season. If you pencil the Nuggets, Lakers, Warriors, and Suns as the top 4 seeds. That leaves the Kings alongside the likes of the Pelicans, Wolves, Grizzlies, Clippers, Mavericks, and Thunder in that next tier. There’s an argument to be made that Sacramento is the best of that group but it should shock no one if most of those teams finish ahead of them in the standings. 43 wins could be enough to land them in the playoff picture.
