In advance of the 2022–23 NBA season, we had opposing scouts size up every division. Here’s what they’re saying about each Western Conference team, from top to bottom. You can find East takes here.
NORTHWEST
- The Nuggets start with Nikola Jokić, who is still the best passing big, or best passer period, maybe, in the league. He finds everybody. ... If Jamal Murray is healthy, he projects as an All-Star. Their two-man game is really hard to guard. ... Aaron Gordon is a pretty good fit next to Jokić. He is a willing and good defender. … Bones Hyland showed some flashes as a rookie, but he had a habit of playing selfishly. He’s going to get more time with Monte Morris gone, but he’s going to have to change his game. … Bruce Brown isn’t a great shooter, but he is such a good cutter that he will get you easy baskets. ... Michael Porter Jr. is a very good scorer and an awful defender. He’ll fire off dumb shots and make them—he’s that good. If he can stay healthy, the Nuggets are as good as any team in the conference.
- Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert will be fine together for the Timberwolves. The question is, are you willing to put $42 million in Gobert [who was acquired from the Jazz] on the bench in the last six minutes of close games? There will be nights when that should happen, and Gobert will not be happy. But I think Chris Finch will do what he has to do. ... D’Angelo Russell is a wild card. He’s in a contract year, so maybe two out of every four games, they get a good DLo. ... Anthony Edwards looks like a star. But they have to get him to value possessions more. Dude, there are four minutes left; you’re down five with 16 on the clock. Why’d you just dribble into a step back? … This team should make a big leap. And if Edwards is really good, then they could be really, really good.
- I’m less enthusiastic about the Blazers adding Jerami Grant than most. I just don’t think he’s very good. Portland probably felt the move would help entice Damian Lillard to stay. ... I guess it’s saying Anfernee Simons and Lillard are both big-time scorers and ballhandlers. Grant, Josh Hart and Gary Payton II are their wing defenders, and Jusuf Nurkić is still Nurkić. … Maybe Portland is a little bit better this year, but probably it’s about the same.
- I would be excited about Josh Giddey if I were the Thunder. He was a pretty damn good passer as a rookie. ... Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows how to score. But on defense, you can go at him. To me, Shai and [new Cavs guard] Donovan Mitchell are two guys who could defend but didn’t give the effort last year. But again, if the organizational mandate is to lose every game, how can Shai be expected to kill himself? . . . Lu Dort is a very good complementary player. Defensively he can turn it into a football game and beat the s--- out of guys and not have anything get called.
- Danny Ainge wants his teams to be either really good or really bad. This Jazz team looks really bad. They will bring in a bunch of young guys, and if one of them hits, great. If not, move on. ... I’m not a Collin Sexton guy. He and Jordan Clarkson are similar, not in how they play, but in their role as scorers. Still, Utah took the right offer for Mitchell. I’d rather pay Sexton $72 million for four years than RJ Barrett $120 million for four years.
PACIFIC
- Short term I don't think the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole incident hurts the Warriors. There's too many veterans on that team. Steve Kerr is too good a coach. And Draymond knows it's on him now to heal any rifts in that locker room. You definitely have to wonder what Draymond's long-term future is, but for this season I don't see it having any real impact. … They have all the pieces to be great again. [34-year-old] Steph Curry’s game will age well. He’ll be an All-Star for years. ... When Klay Thompson came back from his injuries last year, he wasn’t close to the defender he used to be. I don’t know how far back he will get this year, but he’s still pretty athletic and a pretty damn good shooter. ... It will be interesting to see how much their young guys help them. Moses Moody can shoot it, and he guards. Jonathan Kuminga can play, though he looks like he thinks he’s at a level that he’s not quite at yet.
- The Suns will be fine in the regular season, but was last year’s playoffs implosion a warning sign? ... They didn’t want to pay Deandre Ayton, but he’s very effective and can get better. They may not like his attitude. He may not like being there. But he’s a great finisher and scorer around the rim. I think they should give him more touches in the regular season. ... Their bench disappeared in the playoffs, and Phoenix didn’t do much to address that. It matters because they have to manage Chris Paul’s minutes this year at age 37. … Booker is a superstar. He’s a three-level scorer. But he has to get more comfortable making passes when the defense comes at him. He has to get out of that Kobe mindset where he’s just going to score over you.
- If the Clippers have everybody back in top form, they are the best team in the conference. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can make shots from all different areas and have great size. George has really improved as a playmaker. Kawhi can defend anyone. ... Let’s see how healthy John Wall is. If he is what he was in Houston two years ago, his pickup doesn’t help much. But if he is athletic enough to get in the paint and to defend, he can be good for them. … Ty Lue’s go-to adjustment in games is to go small and switch everything. I would assume they do a good amount of that. They have a lot of switchability defensively. If they stay healthy, they are really tough.
- I really don’t know how the Lakers can make Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley work in the backcourt. There’s legitimate hatred there. That’ll be a challenge for rookie coach Darvin Ham. ... Offensively LeBron James continues to be really strong, but [at age 37] he can’t play high minutes at both ends anymore. He can still be a top player, but I don’t think he can win the way he would prefer, with the ball in his hands every play. ... Ham is right to play Anthony Davis at the five. It doesn't solve all their spacing issues but it opens up the floor a little bit. And as much as he hates it, AD can have a much bigger impact on both ends at center than power forward. … Still, this is a play-in team. With a very good year, it’s a sixth seed, at best.
- For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis both have talent, but neither has been able to maximize it. You saw some signs of chemistry late last season, after they picked up Sabonis from Indiana. How those two mesh will determine how good Sacramento will be. ... I like the Kings’ top pick, Keegan Murray. At 6'8" he’s got good size, good shotmaking and good decision-making. He looks like he’ll be a solid, versatile player. They can slide him to the four. They could even play him as a small five for a few minutes.
SOUTHWEST
- I think the Grizzlies take a little bit of a step back. They rely a lot on offensive rebounding and transition. If the West as a whole is better, it becomes harder to win that way. ... Jaren Jackson Jr. is a good, not great, player. On defense he fouls a ton. ... Dillon Brooks is too much of a wild card. It looks like they made an agreement with him that was like, “We’ll let you take any of the crazy shots you want, as long as you guard.” … Defensively, Ja Morant is atrocious. He’s as bad as any big-time NBA player you will find. But offensively, he gets where he wants, and that’s big. His three-point shooting was better last year, and if it continues to improve he will be an MVP candidate. His attitude and energy are something that they all feed off.
- Who is the Mavericks’ second-best player? Last year it was Jalen Brunson. Now who is it? Christian Wood? I think he’s an empty-numbers guy. Is it Spencer Dinwiddie? I don’t know if you can bet on him. ... They need Josh Green to make a jump. And for a little while last year he did, but he hit a slump and then he didn’t get any more touches. Bottom line: They're going to miss Brunson a lot. ... There’s no Big Three. There’s a Big One. And so there’s a lot of pressure on Luka Dončić to stay healthy, to be good and lead every night. He’s pretty damn good, but I don’t know how far he can take them.
- For the Pelicans, Zion Williamson looks like a star. A guy who went up against him told us Zion was like a battering ram hitting him in the chest. The question is, what is a realistic number of games for him? 55? 60? ... Brandon Ingram is insanely talented. He’s got a pull-up jump shot that is impossible to block. … CJ McCollum was a big get last year. You could tell his professionalism rubbed off on them. ... But the biggest thing is, how do they make these pieces fit or do they move off of guys? … Herb Jones was good defensively, but he’s not a great shooter. Zion’s not a great shooter. CJ doesn’t really shoot threes off the catch. The spacing is not going to be great. … I don't know if they’re top-half-of-the-West good, but they’re in the playoffs.
- The Rockets are going to stink. Again. Their spacing was horrendous last season. Their willingness to pass was terrible. Their defense stunk. ... Jabari Smith Jr. can help defensively right away. On offense, he has that high release that makes his shot impossible to get to. If he starts making them, he could surprise people early. ... If I were them, I’d get Kevin Porter Jr. out of there and say, “Hey, Jalen Green and Smith, we’re going to roll with you guys. Hey, Stephen Silas, your job as coach is to make those two guys better. Then we’re going to get a top-five pick again next year. And then we’re going to say, ‘These are our three guys.’”
- The Spurs have a half dozen guys you kind of like, but nobody that you love. This is a team built to get a high draft pick. I mean, Doug McDermott is their highest-paid player. ... Keldon Johnson started out wild last year but played more under control by the end. He could be the fourth or fifth starter on a good team. … Josh Primo kind of intrigued me toward the end of the year. If he can shoot the ball well, that’s probably a guy who’s going to be a player. … I hope Pop does enjoy coaching young guys. Because they are really going to struggle to win.
