Kings of the Hill – The Sacramento Kings boast arguably the most versatile starting five in the NLL: Larry Sanders, Kevin Love, George Paul, JR Smith and Chris Paul form a dynamic quintet that is tough to matchup against. Essentially a pick your poison brew of athletic offense spiced with defensive toughness. It’s not an easy decision on how to game plan against the starting unit or the bench which is lined with perennial hustle guys like Jordan Hill and Boris Diaw. The enigmatic but forever consistent Antawn Jamison leads the big man charge and Gerald Henderson will keep things popping from the perimeter.  Injuries and coaching are about this team’s biggest obstacles at the moment. Kevin Love and Chris Paul seem to always have some nagging thing or another interfering with their playing time. GM Carlspackler can sometimes have a just roll the ball out there and let them do their thing approach. But with Pacific division being possibly the toughest in the west. There will be a need for key adjustments to keep the other teams at bay and to secure a chance to get to and past the conference finals.

Reaching for the Crown – The LA Clippers who finished with 51 wins last season despite having their best player hurt for the majority of the season managed to somehow get better and become more consistent with the acquisition of Paul Gasol in the offseason. Gasol has his own injury demons to deal with but he is much more comfortable in the post and his game blends better with PF David Lee. Monte Ellis and Mike Conley both also have complimentary games that can leave defenses stretched to the brink and Corey Brewer who is possibly the most underrated signing in the FA period is a do all swing man that can play D, score on the break and knock down the open jumper when given the opportunity. From the Bench Shane Battier and Chris Andersen are great hustle players that use their experience to limit mistakes and manage to be in the right place at the right time making some key play or another. Their backcourt bench isn’t stellar and this is the area where the team could probably use a boost to get to the top of the mountain.

Arm and Dangerous – The Phoenix Suns despite having a relatively strong season last year have opted to revamp the entire team almost from top to bottom. Gortat, Ilyosova, Derozan, Aflalo and Deron Williams are all gone scattered across the NLL like balls of stray tumbleweed. Blowing in are Marc Gasol, Josh Smith, Tony Allen, Jason Terry and Rajon Rondo. Although they are a little on the small side the new starting unit is tougher on defense and much more efficient on offense.  Andre Blatche, Wesley Johnson, Darren Collison and hyped rookie Shabazz Muhammed although not as defensively solid are more than capable of handling the shoot first ask questions later mentality of the starting unit which will will have a good chance of wearing teams down and possibly opening up some good sized leads for the Suns. At the moment durability is the only obstacle that the Suns need to be concerned about as 3 of their new starters open the season on injured reserve. Patience might be the mantra for the early part of the season as these guys get healthy and into the swing of things.

Knocking at the Door – The Los Angeles Lakers skidded into the playoffs last season grabbing the #8 spot on a literal wing and a prayer. Not being satisfied with mediocrity the Team has also went on a mission to flip its roster. The most notable acquisitions are Carlos Boozer, Mario Chalmers and Andre Iguadala. Pair them with future hall of famer Paul Pierce and there is a lot of potential for greatness there. They are quite possibly a player or two away from being truly formidable. Boozer and Pierce can rack points with the best of them and Iggy is the kind of do it all player that makes things happen when you need them the most, a key steal, rebound, bucket or what have you Iggy is your guy to make that happen. But they lack playmaking and toughness in the paint as well as the kind of PG that can put it all together. But the Lakers are led by savvy GM who is willing and able to make the decisions necessary to keep this team on an upward climb and get them in position to go deep into the playoffs.

Climbing Out of the Basement – The Golden State Warriors have been one of the most controversial teams in the NLL for a couple of years now. Management has a history of high stakes gambling when it comes to trades. It can be a tough position to be forced to have to Sign and Trade your best player. Through the usual controversy and possibly a little bit of luck the Warriors have cobbled together a team that has a chance at making the playoffs. At the very least they will be in the hunt for the 8th seed and that will be a vast improvement over years past. Luol Deng and Kirs Humphries are great hustle players that will defend, rebound and otherwise cause havoc to opposing teams and Deng is the kind of guy that can score you points without needing plays run for him. JJ Hickson is going to play center and actually suit up for the Warriors for arguably most of the foreseeable future. JJ Redick has been a bench player for the majority of his NLL career. It’s time to sh!t or get off the pot as he has been handed the keys to the starting SG spot in Golden State and is in a situation totally favorable to his talents. Greivis Vasquez will hold down the PG position all though not the most stellar choice. He has size and intelligence and has a couple of choice targets he can toss the ball to if he gets in trouble.  Wilson Chandler will be the lead guy off of a otherwise short bench and it will be his demonstrate his versatility as he will likely play 3 positions. Golden State will need to show patience to give this team a chance to make some noise and then continue to build off of that during the next offseason.

Division MVP – Kevin Love – he missed the majority of last season and now will really get a chance to pull his weight as his rebounding and scoring abilities will get a chance to shine and give the Kings a chance to make it all the way to the finals.

Division ROY – Shabazz Mohammed – The Suns have a number of options at SF/SG. But athletic long armed rookies will always have a chance to make an impact in this league and the need to find an edge somewhere will prompt the Suns to give the young man some daylight as long as he is on the active roster.
Projected Record

1. Kings 59 – 23
2. Clippers 57 - 25
3. Suns 52 – 30
4. Lakers 51 – 31