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-NBA -| 2011-2012 |
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<blockquote data-quote="eranda444" data-source="post: 11519511" data-attributes="member: 34580"><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/NW-preview-608.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Northwest Division: Thunder positioned in driver's seat</strong></span></p><p></p><p>With an eye toward a promising future, the Oklahoma City Thunder began their quest a year ago thinking big but realistic about the prospects of a team with starters in their early 20s competing for a championship. A magical ride to the Western Conference finals later and Generation Next has morphed into Generation Right Now. No longer content to wait their turn, the Thunder served notice last season that they weren't shy about accelerating the learning curve to the point that they're not only the class of the Northwest Division and a serious threat to the Dallas Mavericks' Western Conference crown, but a legitimate title contender as well.</p><p></p><p>Who better to handle the pounding of back-to-back-to-back games than the team with the youngest legs in the league? And with the NBA's most mercurial, rising star (sorry Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin) in Kevin Durant, the Thunder have everything needed to take another step this season.</p><p></p><p>The Thunder's ascent in the Northwest Division comes at the same time the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers all are going through transition phases. That might allow to the Minnesota Timberwolves and their young cast of up and comers to make their mark, too, with new leadership in Rick Adelman calling the shots. Whatever this group lacks in quality depth of teams it will more than make up for in star power with Durant and Russell Westbrook for the Thunder, LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland, Kevin Love and the curious case of Ricky Rubio in Minnesota.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/okc_pm.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>2010-11 record:</strong> 55-27</p><p></p><p><strong>Finish:</strong> First in Northwest Division</p><p></p><p><strong>Playoffs:</strong> Defeated Denver in Western Conference first round (4-1), defeated Memphis in Western Conference semifinals (4-3), lost to Dallas in Western Conference finals (4-1).</p><p></p><p><strong>Strengths:</strong> The disappointing finish against Dallas in the Western Conference finals should not overshadow the season the Thunder put together behind the work of Durant and Westbrook. Unlike many teams that have to retool their rosters in a compressed training camp/free agency period, the Thunder will open camp with the entire roster intact. That sort of continuity should allow for a smoother transition in the two weeks before the regular season begins.</p><p></p><p><strong>Challenges:</strong> For two years the Thunder have had the advantage of chasing the pack, be it in the division and the conference. Those days are over. They are full-fledged members of the league's elite now and with that comes the sort of pressure and scrutiny that they struggled with against Dallas in the Western Conference finals. They'll have to have a little thicker skin this time around. And Thunder coach Scott Brooks must continue to manage the Durant-Westbrook dynamic without stifling either one of his young stars in the process.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Outlook: </strong>Durant missed out on MVP honors last season to Rose and saw his championship dreams flame out against Dirk Nowitzki, so the Thunder's best players should have plenty of motivation in this abbreviated season. The fact that he's leading a cast of youngsters still bent on proving themselves makes this one of the most dangerous teams in the league. They've already proved to themselves they can play with the big boys. Now we'll see if they can take the next step.</p><p></p><p><strong>This could make a difference:</strong> Kendrick Perkins had his limitations exposed in the playoffs against both Memphis and Dallas, paving the way for both Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison to play bigger roles in the playoffs. But the real difference for the Thunder is going to be the continued maturation of Westbrook. Has he learned from his playoff mishaps? We'll know soon enough.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/den_pm.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>2010-11 record: </strong>50-32</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Finish:</strong> Second in Northwest division</p><p></p><p><strong>Playoffs:</strong> Lost to Oklahoma City in Western Conference first round (4-1)</p><p></p><p><strong>Strengths:</strong> Coach George Karl doesn't have much to cling to in this department, what with Nene at the top of the free agent wish list for nearly every team in the league, Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith all playing in China until March (if they can't find their way out of those Chinese Basketball Association contracts they signed) and no sign of a superstar replacement for Carmelo Anthony or even Chauncey Billups. Then again, Karl usually does his best with a motley crew. And the assortment of players that will fill the Nuggets' roster this season have to qualify as motley, at best.</p><p></p><p><strong>Challenges:</strong> Not that they needed any other distractions, but the Nuggets will have to figure out how to keep Nene and potentially Aaron Afflalo, a restricted free agent, in the fold while also trying to fill out the roster. No offense to rookies Kenneth Faried or Jordan Hamilton, but the Nuggets need some established help this season. And the only way to get it is to scramble to keep their own, which won't be easy based on the way Nene says he was treated last season -- he claims he was ready to sign an extension during the season but didn't receive an offer until long after the Nuggets' season had ended.</p><p></p><p><strong>Outlook:</strong> Karl will have his team ready to scrap one way or another. And if you let some folks in Denver tell it, this team needed to purge some of the personalities that populated the locker room the past five years. But rebuilding takes time, in addition to a grand plan and the financial flexibility to get it all done. The one thing the Nuggets won't have much of is time. Even with the facilities opening a week earlier than training camp begins, it's still going to be a struggle to put together a team ready to fight with the Thunder and Trail Blazers for the top spot in the division.</p><p></p><p><strong>This could make a difference: </strong>That chip on the shoulders of everyone still wearing a Nuggets uniform is what carried them after the trade last season that everyone assumed would decimate this team. By most any measure, they played better once Anthony and Billups left for New York. If Karl can tap into that same energy to start this season, albeit without Chandler, Martin, Smith and potentially others, his legacy as one of the true masterminds will be cemented.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="eranda444, post: 11519511, member: 34580"] [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/NW-preview-608.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE="4"][B]Northwest Division: Thunder positioned in driver's seat[/B][/SIZE] With an eye toward a promising future, the Oklahoma City Thunder began their quest a year ago thinking big but realistic about the prospects of a team with starters in their early 20s competing for a championship. A magical ride to the Western Conference finals later and Generation Next has morphed into Generation Right Now. No longer content to wait their turn, the Thunder served notice last season that they weren't shy about accelerating the learning curve to the point that they're not only the class of the Northwest Division and a serious threat to the Dallas Mavericks' Western Conference crown, but a legitimate title contender as well. Who better to handle the pounding of back-to-back-to-back games than the team with the youngest legs in the league? And with the NBA's most mercurial, rising star (sorry Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin) in Kevin Durant, the Thunder have everything needed to take another step this season. The Thunder's ascent in the Northwest Division comes at the same time the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers all are going through transition phases. That might allow to the Minnesota Timberwolves and their young cast of up and comers to make their mark, too, with new leadership in Rick Adelman calling the shots. Whatever this group lacks in quality depth of teams it will more than make up for in star power with Durant and Russell Westbrook for the Thunder, LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland, Kevin Love and the curious case of Ricky Rubio in Minnesota. [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/okc_pm.jpg[/IMG] [B]2010-11 record:[/B] 55-27 [B]Finish:[/B] First in Northwest Division [B]Playoffs:[/B] Defeated Denver in Western Conference first round (4-1), defeated Memphis in Western Conference semifinals (4-3), lost to Dallas in Western Conference finals (4-1). [B]Strengths:[/B] The disappointing finish against Dallas in the Western Conference finals should not overshadow the season the Thunder put together behind the work of Durant and Westbrook. Unlike many teams that have to retool their rosters in a compressed training camp/free agency period, the Thunder will open camp with the entire roster intact. That sort of continuity should allow for a smoother transition in the two weeks before the regular season begins. [B]Challenges:[/B] For two years the Thunder have had the advantage of chasing the pack, be it in the division and the conference. Those days are over. They are full-fledged members of the league's elite now and with that comes the sort of pressure and scrutiny that they struggled with against Dallas in the Western Conference finals. They'll have to have a little thicker skin this time around. And Thunder coach Scott Brooks must continue to manage the Durant-Westbrook dynamic without stifling either one of his young stars in the process. [B] Outlook: [/B]Durant missed out on MVP honors last season to Rose and saw his championship dreams flame out against Dirk Nowitzki, so the Thunder's best players should have plenty of motivation in this abbreviated season. The fact that he's leading a cast of youngsters still bent on proving themselves makes this one of the most dangerous teams in the league. They've already proved to themselves they can play with the big boys. Now we'll see if they can take the next step. [B]This could make a difference:[/B] Kendrick Perkins had his limitations exposed in the playoffs against both Memphis and Dallas, paving the way for both Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison to play bigger roles in the playoffs. But the real difference for the Thunder is going to be the continued maturation of Westbrook. Has he learned from his playoff mishaps? We'll know soon enough. [IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/news/features/2011-northwest-preview/den_pm.jpg[/IMG] [B]2010-11 record: [/B]50-32 [B] Finish:[/B] Second in Northwest division [B]Playoffs:[/B] Lost to Oklahoma City in Western Conference first round (4-1) [B]Strengths:[/B] Coach George Karl doesn't have much to cling to in this department, what with Nene at the top of the free agent wish list for nearly every team in the league, Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith all playing in China until March (if they can't find their way out of those Chinese Basketball Association contracts they signed) and no sign of a superstar replacement for Carmelo Anthony or even Chauncey Billups. Then again, Karl usually does his best with a motley crew. And the assortment of players that will fill the Nuggets' roster this season have to qualify as motley, at best. [B]Challenges:[/B] Not that they needed any other distractions, but the Nuggets will have to figure out how to keep Nene and potentially Aaron Afflalo, a restricted free agent, in the fold while also trying to fill out the roster. No offense to rookies Kenneth Faried or Jordan Hamilton, but the Nuggets need some established help this season. And the only way to get it is to scramble to keep their own, which won't be easy based on the way Nene says he was treated last season -- he claims he was ready to sign an extension during the season but didn't receive an offer until long after the Nuggets' season had ended. [B]Outlook:[/B] Karl will have his team ready to scrap one way or another. And if you let some folks in Denver tell it, this team needed to purge some of the personalities that populated the locker room the past five years. But rebuilding takes time, in addition to a grand plan and the financial flexibility to get it all done. The one thing the Nuggets won't have much of is time. Even with the facilities opening a week earlier than training camp begins, it's still going to be a struggle to put together a team ready to fight with the Thunder and Trail Blazers for the top spot in the division. [B]This could make a difference: [/B]That chip on the shoulders of everyone still wearing a Nuggets uniform is what carried them after the trade last season that everyone assumed would decimate this team. By most any measure, they played better once Anthony and Billups left for New York. If Karl can tap into that same energy to start this season, albeit without Chandler, Martin, Smith and potentially others, his legacy as one of the true masterminds will be cemented. [/QUOTE]
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