Preseason Rankings for the Southwest

Will Dallas successfully defend its NBA Championship? Will San Antonio return to prominence? Will Memphis ride their momentum into 2011? Will we even see basketball? By Matt Rose  

(Flickr/Keith Allison)

1. Dallas Mavericks: The defending champs receive the obligatory top spot in the preseason rankings. The Mavs systematically dismantled the Heat in the NBA Finals, and Dirk Nowitzki asserted himself as the anti-LeBron James most clutch player in the league. While Dallas still faces many questions heading into next season, including the ages of veterans Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry and the free agency status of several key contributors, the franchise is too talented not to follow up last year’s championship season with another playoff run. The newly acquired Rudy Fernandez will provide a key spark for the offense this season, and many expect a healthy Rodrigue Beaubois to be a key contributor.

2. Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies are an intriguing team to watch in 2011-2012. After upsetting the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs last season, the young and talented Grizzles will look to follow up with a deep run in the playoffs. This time, though,  Memphis will have their best player, Rudy Gay, to aid them. 
3. San Antonio Spurs: The era of Western Conference dominance by San Antonio may finally be nearing the end. Stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Richard Jefferson are 35, 34, and 31, respectively. Duncan’s points per game and rebounding averages last year dropped significantly from his career marks in those categories (13.4 PPG, 8.9 RBS down from 20.6 PPG and 11.4 RBS). Jefferson has been significantly less effective in San Antonio than he was in New Jersey. For the Spurs to make a deep run in the playoffs, they will need more production from youngsters Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair.
4. New Orleans Hornets: Simply put, the Hornets are in trouble. Chris Paul could be out of New Orleans and David West announced he does not intend to re-sign with the team. Making matters worst, PF Carl Landry, C Aaron Gray, and SG Willie Green are all free agents. The Hornets need to make major moves during the offseason or they will find themselves looking at a high lottery pick and a bleak present. 
5. Houston Rockets: The Rockets have a lot of potential that they never seem to fulfill. The injury-riddled Yao Ming was a sad story for the franchise the last few seasons, but now that he retired, they need to move on quickly. Luis Scola and scoring machine Kevin Martin must provide veteran leadership for a team with an average age of 24 years old.