The Southwest Division proves to be very interesting and a brawl throughout the season. It is almost impossible to predict the top three in this division because the Spurs, Rockets, and Grizzlies will all be fighting for that top spot in this division. Dallas and New Orleans are by no means going to be awful teams this year, but someone has to be at the bottom. With the Rockets getting a major boost and the Spurs and Grizzlies getting some nice role players, this proves to be a knockdown drag-out fight for most of the season. Here we go.

First Place—San Antonio Spurs

I think we have been saying this team is going to go downhill for like, what? Seven years now?! Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili may be getting a year older, but if their performances in the last year’s NBA Finals and the playoffs said anything, it is that they both still have a bit in the tank. Tim Duncan more so, I think Manu is visibly starting to fall to the power of age, but he can still go off on a night and be an excellent play-maker. Tim Duncan will turn 38 during this season, but you would not know it. He averaged 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds a game last season. That is absurd for a guy his age, but that just goes to show his professionalism and the fact that he is taking great care of himself.

The Spurs added Marco Belinelli this past off-season to help give them a little extra shooting punch. I also think this was a grab to help Manu not have to carry that sixth man weight all on his own. This was a great pickup and, honestly, I was not expecting a whole lot from them this off-season. They were so dang close to winning the Finals last season that I felt like they should not screw up the team too much.  I think they have what it takes to make another deep run into the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard is improving at a fast rate and is starting to carve himself into becoming part of the new big three in San Antonio. Danny Green is a shooter. If you were watching the NBA Finals, he made your jaw drop. But, I really think he needs to develop a little bit more of an inside game because the Heat were able to just shut him down. All you had to do was close out on him and he couldn’t do that much. If Danny Green can do that, then I think this team is dangerous as hell.

All-in-all, I think they lock up the first place spot. Houston did get a lot better, but I still think some of the inexperience of playing together and the fact that their team still could use a few extra pieces is going to keep them from completely tearing through that division. Memphis is going to be good there is no doubt, but with the loss of Lionel Hollins, I would be interested to see how they play this year. Overall, I think the Spurs are the Spurs and I have given up assuming they will be breaking down or falling any time soon.

Second Place—Houston Rockets

This team is going to score. A lot. With the addition of Dwight Howard, they now have a starting line-up that can scare some people. I think the weakest link is Jeremy Lin at the point guard position. You saw Patrick Beverly became a nice asset and player in last season’s playoffs while Jeremy Lin was out with injury and showed that he can play. I am very interested to see how that particular storyline unfolds. I think they overpaid for Lin big time and he has been all right, but nothing like Linsanity.  As for the other starters, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, and Dwight Howard are going to great. That core is fantastic and I think Parsons has shocked a lot of people with how good he is playing. The storyline that puzzles me is Omer Asik. He demanded a trade almost immediately after Howard chose Houston, but Houston ignored his demand. He is under contract for another two years and has surely shown that he can be a starter in this league. I have heard that Houston intends to use Howard and Asik on the floor at the PF and C positions respectively. How is that going to work? I do not think it is going to work as well as they think it will, but who knows. I, honestly, see Asik being traded next season or at the very most walking when his contract is up. I will be keeping an eye on this as the season progresses.

The only reason I say that they will land in second place is the fact that I think their defense still might be a little suspect. If Dwight Howard can be what he was in Orlando, then they will have no problems. But, if Howard is going to be like the Lakers version of Howard, then that should prove interesting. I still think they are a couple players off of truly contending for a championship. They will definitely get past the first round this season and I would even say that they get to the Western Conference Finals, but I think the Spurs or OKC have enough firepower and experience in the postseason to knock them out. Plus, they just haven’t played together. I think there will be some bumps in the road at some point in the season and, obviously, the critics will come out of the woodwork, but I think this team will be able to make a LOT of noise once they figure out how to play together. This team is young and they are going to be playing together for a while. Who would have thought that the Rockets were going to be this good after the blowup of the previous team in last year’s off-season?

All-in-all, I feel like they will be able to ultimately take the second place spot in this division. It is going to be a fight to keep it from the Grizzlies as I honestly think Memphis has a chance to get it too because Memphis is largely returning the same team with another year of experience. However, I think Houston is a better team. They will be able to outscore Memphis and I think they will be able to penetrate that defense with a lot of fast guards and the weapon of Dwight Howard in the middle to fight with Marc Gasol.

Third Place—Memphis Grizzlies

A couple things have happened in Grizzlyland. They lost their coach, Lionel Hollins, who still does not have a job. They were able to get Mike Miller from Miami, and were able to get a crucial back-up center in Kosta Koufos from Denver.

A lot of these moves were small, but could possibly be game changers come the postseason. The Grizzlies never really had a backup center and now they can rest Gasol and not have to hope that the other team does not drop 30 on them. Mike Miller was purely a postseason pick. He played there for about six years during the prime of his career and is now returning in hopes of helping this team compete for a championship. However, I think the biggest question mark lies in their new coach, David Joerger. Losing Lionel Hollins was a huge blow and, in my opinion, a mistake. Hollins lead this team to the Western Conference Finals and they really had a shot of going to the Finals. They did end up getting swept, which I did not expect, but you cannot deny what Hollins did for this team. I feel like they should have kept him for another three to four years to ride out this roster. I think the sweep was a fluke and I think Memphis might have pulled the trigger a bit prematurely.

However, Joerger has been able to do wonders from the bench and help plant the defensive and dirty mindset that this team has. I think this was the right choice for the new coach, but I think letting Hollins go was very questionable.

All-in-all, I think Memphis eventually settles in the third place spot. However, I believe there will be a solid chance that they end up second depending on how Houston plays and how Memphis matches up against Houston. Like I said above, expect these two teams to be fighting until the very last game for that second place spot.

Fourth Place—New Orleans Pelicans

This team has made some huge strides in the past couple of season. Grabbing Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick and then getting Jrue Holiday from the 76ers in the trade that sent Nerlens Noel to Philly. They were also able to grab Tyreke Evans from the Kings in a three-team deal that ended up having them losing Greivis Vasquez and Robin Lopez. I think this team is going to leap a little bit in terms of wins and losses. They have a nice young core now that they can build off of and they have an excellent coach who was honestly able to do wonders with the teams he has had in the past couple of seasons.

My only question about this team is will they be able to share the ball? Tyreke is a bit of a black hole and Holiday is used to being one of the main scoring options. How will this affect the team aspect? One of the downsides of losing Vasquez is that you lost someone who was definitely a pass-first point guard. Vasquez just didn’t have a lot of options to go to while he was there. It will be interesting to see how that backcourt chemistry develops and whether there seems to be an issue of playing one-on-one basketball rather than passing the ball to the more open man.

I am also going to be very interested in watching Anthony Davis in his second year. He has put on some weight, I have heard, and I feel like this will be a breakout year for him considering that the two centers that they do have will not be doing much or are still developing. Davis will be the main scoring option in the paint and I would expect his stats to jump up as long as he stays healthy.

All-in-all, I think the Pelicans will jump up in the standings and slide into the fourth place spot in this division. I think they have the potential to challenge for an eighth seed if everything goes to plan, but I think there are just a few other teams that are slightly better. However, fans there should be excited. They will definitely be making some noise in the next couple of years. All they need to do is maybe fill some slots on the bench and have the team grow up a little bit and they will be a threat.

Fifth Place—Dallas Mavericks

Just because these guys are in last place does not make this team garbage. They got some nice pieces in Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis, Devin Harris, and DeJuan Blair. As well as returning favorites like Dirk, Shawn Marion, and Vince Carter. I have but one question about this team, however. Who in the heck is going to be able to play some decent defense? Calderon is an awful defender and Monta Ellis isn’t exactly a shut-down defender, either. This is really the only reason I am predicting them in last place. They have the skills to win some ball games, but how are they going to stop the other team from scoring? Their scores are going to similar to what the Houston Rockets had last year. Lots of triple-digit games.

They are going to have to figure something out soon. Dirk is getting older and it seems like they just continue to try and piece together a team after striking out on Dwight Howard twice. Don’t get me wrong, I think their roster is slightly better than it was last year and luckily some of the new additions aren’t one-year deals so there is time for some chemistry and development to happen, but I am looking for that next big star. You cannot depend on Dirk forever and I think this is the right time to grab someone. I think Monta Ellis can be that guy, but he has to shoot 25 times a game. How is that going to work?

If things break right, I think Dallas has a chance to grab the fourth place spot, but ultimately I think with no defense and maybe some chemistry issues they will lose a few too many games and be in fifth place in this division. Like I said at the beginning, Dallas in any other division could probably be third place, but this division just got stacked and someone has to be last.