By Alvin Halimwidjaya
With summer having drawn to a close, various trades and signings have shaken up the NBA landscape. In anticipation of the 2016-2017 season, here are some of the highlights of the offseason in the Northwest Division.
Upstart Trailblazers Continue on Their Rise in the West: After Portland took the league by surprise last year, they’re ready to prove that they’re a force to be reckoned with and not just a flash in the pan. It all starts with their dynamic duo: guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are arguably the second-best backcourt in the league. Both can explode on offense and carry the Blazers for stretches, and Lillard’s ability to drain clutch shot after shot is a gift not many players possess. With complementary pieces like Mason Plumlee and Evan Turner, look for the Blazers to continue to wreak havoc in the East.
Young Wolves Look to Feast This Season: This year, Minnesota is chomping at the bit to snatch a playoff berth in the Western Conference. With one of the best big men in the NBA in 20-year-old Karl Anthony Towns, they are already poised for a bright future. However, throw rising star Andrew Wiggins, combo guard dynamo Zach LaVine and rookie stud Kris Dunn into the mix, not to mention a great coach in Tom Thibodeau, and it becomes hard to imagine a near future in which the Timberwolves aren’t constantly contending for championships.
Jazz Trying to Reach Their Potential (and the Playoffs): With injuries to Dante Exum, Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Alec Burks throughout last season, the Jazz fell victim to misfortune and missed the playoffs by a single game. Despite previous turmoil, Utah is still an incredible defensive team with a quality scorer in Gordon Hayward. With coach Quin Snyder calling the shots and veterans like Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and George Hill coming into the fold, this might be the year the Jazz get their act together and wins a playoff berth.
The Thunder Live in Westbrook’s World Now: In a world where his running mate left to form a super team in the Golden State Warriors, one man is ready to rain fire on the rest of the league. With Kevin Durant’s departure, every single facet of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game plan will revolve around and go through Russell Westbrook. The possibility of him averaging a triple double throughout the whole season is unbelievably in play. If Victor Oladipo can tread the balance between supporting Westbrook and getting out of his way, and if Enes Kanter and Steven Adams remain a productive frontcourt, Oklahoma City could be a team that no one will want to face.
Nuggets Yet to Strike Gold: The Denver Nuggets are an enigma. They have young, valuable pieces like Emmanuel Mudiay, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. They also have quality veterans like Danilo Galinari and Wilson Chandler. The Nuggets have decisions to make; not only do they need to determine the direction of the franchise in terms of youth, but they also need to figure out what they’re going to do with Kenneth Faried, a tenacious forward who provides solid production but simply doesn’t fit on the team. How Denver moves forward with Faried and their veterans will be telling of their future success.
