The Southwest Division has gained a superstar. Chris Paul joins the Rockets and James Harden to make the top of the division even better.
The San Antonio Spurs get a whole offseason to get Kawhi Leonard healthy, as well as having the best coach in the history of the NBA.
The Mavericks received a lottery pick and added Dennis Smith Jr. to a Dirk Nowitzki led team.
The New Orleans Pelicans get more time to have Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins mesh. They also added a pass-first point guard in Rajon Rondo, who hopes to help the two.
Finally, the Memphis Grizzlies look to improve on a solid season last year, but lose a few veterans who have contributed in the last few years.
Here are the win predictions for all five teams in the Southwest Division this upcoming season.
Dallas Mavericks
2016-17 record: 33-49
2017-18 prediction: 36-46
The Mavericks have pretty quietly put together a solid starting lineup. Dennis Smith Jr. will solve one of the major problems that the team had.
The starting lineup of Smith, Wesley Matthews, Harrison Barnes, Dirk Nowitzki and Nerlens Noel is a solid starting lineup. Smith is showing that he has big potential and can be a good point guard in the league.
Building with a core of Barnes and Smith could be lethal moving forward, but for the immediate future the Mavericks will be a fringe playoff team.
Houston Rockets
2016-17 record: 55-27
2017-18 prediction: 56-26
The Houston Rockets gave up a lot, but they have another star to team up with James Harden. The west seems to be all about star power, and the Rockets have added some to their roster.
The west has been very strong and that is why they will hang around the same wins that they had last season.
Having good guard play is one of the many keys in having success in the NBA, and the Rockets have one of the best backcourts in the whole league.
Memphis Grizzlies
2016-17 record: 43-39
2017-18 prediction: 33-49
The Grizzlies didn’t add a bunch this offseason, but their main offseason move was the loss Zach Randolph.
With Chandler Parsons supremely underperforming comparatively to the contract that he signed, there is reason to believe that they have not gotten better this offseason.
Whether Randolph and Vince Carter leaving is a 10-win difference remains to be seen, but Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are basically the only options on offense now.
New Orleans Pelicans
2016-17 record: 34-48
2017-18 prediction: 43-39
The Pelicans finally get a whole season of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, which is enough to raise their win total from last season.
The big addition is Rajon Rondo. Rondo adds the ability to facilitate to the two big men and add to their output. They also added former Warrior guard Ian Clark to a very young bench.
Jrue Holiday is a solid guard as well. The Pelicans will rely heavily on their frontcourt and will potentially find their way to the playoffs because of them.
San Antonio Spurs
2016-17 record: 61-21
2017-18 prediction: 52-30
The west is a gauntlet and there’s no way around it.
The Spurs have nearly moved on from Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and have handed the keys over to LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard and Dejounte Murray.
The Spurs seem to always be good with Gregg Popovich at the helm, and I don’t see it changing this season. A healthy Kawhi Leonard will be dangerous with solid pieces built around him.
The Spurs will be very good this season and will trade blows with the Houston Rockets at the top of the Southwest Division.
Featured Image Courtesy of philstar.com.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Zach!
“From Our Haus to Yours”