2008 Woodie Awards
Best In The West
Lance Cartelli
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Sports
After a flurry of blockbuster trades, and some kneejerk reactions, that sent Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jason Kidd to the Lakers, Suns, and Mavericks, respectively, the Western Conference is maintaining its domination over the NBA.
The steal of the season so far has been the acquisition of Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for basically nothing, I mean Kwame Brown. The trade for Pau Gasol, 27, gives the Lakers the inside presence they have been missing since C Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury, not to mention Gasol still has three years left on his contract. When Bynum does come back from injury, the Lakers will have arguably the best starting five, deepest bench, and strongest front line in the NBA. The Lakers have set themselves up for a strong future with a young front line and the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, but not everything is perfect in la la land; the injury bug is hitting them hard. Bynum hurt his knee and we do not know if he will be 100% this year, key back up Trevor Ariza has a hurt foot and the most important player Kobe Bryant is playing with torn ligaments in his pinky finger.
Shaquille O'Neal also comes back to the West in a trade that mainly swapped O'Neal with malcontent F Shawn Marion. Although controversy circles this trade, it will strengthen the Suns for their playoff run this year. The Suns finally have a defense presence on the inside, and paired up with Amare Stoudamire, who can now play mainly at his natural position of PF, they can match up on the front line with the Lakers and Spurs. Whenever O'Neal does go to a new team he gets a revitalized and surges his team deep into the playoffs, if history does repeat, watch out for the Suns this year.
The final blockbuster trade for the West sent PG Jason Kidd to the Mavericks in return for a package that consisted of young PG Devin Harris and others to the Nets. At first, this trade seemed dead due to Devean George vetoing the trade, but in a different package the trade finally got completed. Although a kneejerk reaction due to the other trades occurring, this trade will also bolster the Mavericks chances in the playoffs. An experienced PG that can shoot and open up the offense extremely helps the Mavericks, but a speed PG like Tony Parker of the Spurs could give the Mavericks nightmares. Former PG Devin Harris helped neutralize Parker in the past with his speed and defense; Kidd is a great defender but no longer possesses the speed to control Parker in the playoffs. All in all the Mavericks are still the 4th best team in the West.
In the end only time will tell, but if the Lakers can come back from injuries and play at a high level they are my favorite to come out of the West and will only get better in the future. Oh yeah, do not count out the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, Parker, Duncan and Co. live for the postseason and they love not being talked about by anybody.
The steal of the season so far has been the acquisition of Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for basically nothing, I mean Kwame Brown. The trade for Pau Gasol, 27, gives the Lakers the inside presence they have been missing since C Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury, not to mention Gasol still has three years left on his contract. When Bynum does come back from injury, the Lakers will have arguably the best starting five, deepest bench, and strongest front line in the NBA. The Lakers have set themselves up for a strong future with a young front line and the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, but not everything is perfect in la la land; the injury bug is hitting them hard. Bynum hurt his knee and we do not know if he will be 100% this year, key back up Trevor Ariza has a hurt foot and the most important player Kobe Bryant is playing with torn ligaments in his pinky finger.
Shaquille O'Neal also comes back to the West in a trade that mainly swapped O'Neal with malcontent F Shawn Marion. Although controversy circles this trade, it will strengthen the Suns for their playoff run this year. The Suns finally have a defense presence on the inside, and paired up with Amare Stoudamire, who can now play mainly at his natural position of PF, they can match up on the front line with the Lakers and Spurs. Whenever O'Neal does go to a new team he gets a revitalized and surges his team deep into the playoffs, if history does repeat, watch out for the Suns this year.
The final blockbuster trade for the West sent PG Jason Kidd to the Mavericks in return for a package that consisted of young PG Devin Harris and others to the Nets. At first, this trade seemed dead due to Devean George vetoing the trade, but in a different package the trade finally got completed. Although a kneejerk reaction due to the other trades occurring, this trade will also bolster the Mavericks chances in the playoffs. An experienced PG that can shoot and open up the offense extremely helps the Mavericks, but a speed PG like Tony Parker of the Spurs could give the Mavericks nightmares. Former PG Devin Harris helped neutralize Parker in the past with his speed and defense; Kidd is a great defender but no longer possesses the speed to control Parker in the playoffs. All in all the Mavericks are still the 4th best team in the West.
In the end only time will tell, but if the Lakers can come back from injuries and play at a high level they are my favorite to come out of the West and will only get better in the future. Oh yeah, do not count out the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, Parker, Duncan and Co. live for the postseason and they love not being talked about by anybody.
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