Thunder Season Preview: The Opposition

Originally Published: Oct 24, 2010 9:39 PM CDT

Oct. 22 – Position Breakdown
Oct. 23 – Key Losses and Additions
Oct. 24 – Top Five Moments of 2009-10
Oct. 25 – Breaking Down the Opposition
Coming Oct. 26 – Top Five Games to Look Forward To
Coming Oct. 27 – Vitals: Thunder vs. Chicago Bulls

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

The Western Conference will have a whole new look to it after perhaps the biggest summer in free agent history. Several player departures from - and additions to - the conference change the makeup of some of the more prominent teams in the West.

How will that affect the Thunder? Part four of a six-part Thunder Season Preview breaks down the opponents the Thunder will face most often this season.

Look for more Thunder breakdown and previews in the days leading up to the Oct. 27 opener by using the links at the top of the story.


Northwest Division Opponents

Utah Jazz – The Jazz must get credit where credit is due. They lost one of their All-Stars as power forward Carlos Boozer joined the Chicago Bulls, but instead of hanging their heads turned right around and snatched Al Jefferson from the Timberwolves. Jefferson should prove almost as effective as Boozer. As long as Deron Williams is running the show from the floor and Jerry Sloan is doing the same on the sidelines, the Jazz will be a major presence in the Western Conference.

Denver Nuggets – Once the Heat love fest became a couple of weeks old, the Nuggets became the most talked-about team of the offseason as Carmelo Anthony became the center of numerous trade rumors. For now, Anthony is still a Nugget, and that means the Thunder still face one of the league’s top scoring threats four times each year. But if ‘Melo leaves, expect several years of rebuilding from the ground up for Denver.

Portland Trailblazers – The Blazers have been trying to make the leap from good to elite for a couple of years now. But a host of injury problems, specifically to Brandon Roy and center Greg Oden, has prevented that. The Blazers will continue to be a tough rival for the Thunder, but for now OKC fans can continue to thank them for taking Oden first overall in 2007 instead of Kevin Durant.

Minnesota Timberwolves – There’s not much to be said about the Timberwolves in the post-Garnett era. Garnett essentially left for greener pastures because the T-Wolves were unable to provide him with any help. Now that Garnett is gone, they – still - are unable to find their team any help. Minnesota traded their top player, forward Al Jefferson, to the Jazz for filler, leaving them even further from relevance than they were after losing Garnett.


Other Western Conference Opponents

Los Angeles Lakers – The Lakers are still the obvious team to beat in the West, but many experts have the Thunder right on their heels in the years to come. As Kobe ages and Andrew Bynum gets repeatedly injured, someone will have to take the reins from L.A. eventually. The Thunder began to drive that point home in the first round last year as their young players continually drove by older Lakers with ease.

Houston Rockets – Yao Ming has been relegated to a maximum of 24 minutes per game this year due to health concerns. But his vast following will likely still vote him an All-Star starter. Still, the combo of guards Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin make Houston always-formidable. Of course, formidable in this case means challenging for the eighth playoff spot.

Los Angeles Clippers – The Clippers are another team that always seems like a good team on paper, but never seem to produce. With former OU star Blake Griffin heading up the Rookie of the Year race, however, this year could finally be “that” year for L.A. to challenge for a playoff spot. Young players Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu should help anchor the Clips as a team on the rise.

Memphis Grizzlies – Another local star, PCO’s Xavier Henry, was the Grizzlies’ first draft pick this season, but it could be a year or two until he polishes his game to an NBA-starter level. Former OSU guard Tony Allen also joined Memphis in the offseason. One of the youngest teams in the league, the Grizzlies could still challenge for a playoff spot the next couple of seasons.

New Orleans Hornets – When it came time for OKC to get a professional team, many fans wanted to keep “Your Hometown Hornets.” But these days, it’s looking more and more like inheriting Seattle was a blessing in disguise. Chris Paul still remains the attraction in N.O. but his days there might be numbered. And when that happens, it will leave a void that the Hornets might never recover from.

Phoenix Suns – The Suns suffered the toughest personnel loss of any Western Conference team with Amare Stoudemire bolting for New York. As always, the Suns were resilient, bringing in forward Hedo Turkoglu to help out. But Steve Nash can only work so much magic and the chances of the two-time MVP getting a ring are looking slimmer each season.

San Antonio Spurs – Do the Spurs ever get too old to play basketball? Or any less boring? The answer is no. Former OSU guard James Anderson should at least provide a local angle. But as long as the Spurs keep their core of Duncan, Parker and Ginobli, with a slew of overachieving international players, they will impact the Western Conference race. Having Gregg Popovich at the helm doesn’t hurt either.

Sacramento Kings – Just a couple of years ago, the Kings might have had the bleakest outlook in the NBA. But with the help of 2009 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, they might be on their way up. Forwards Carl Landry and Jason Thompson can hold it down in the paint, as well as some experts’ dark horse candidate for Rookie of the year, DeMarcus Cousins. But the Kings might still be a year or two from sniffing the playoffs.