The Death Valley - the ultra-competitive South West Division of the NBA
Death Valley in American sports is usually reserved for the home of the intimidating American football teams. They are hostile, gigantic, intimidating and it is difficult to survive - let alone win a game. It will demolish rosters, end careers and coaches get fired after a game at Death Valley.
The South West division of the National Basketball Association comprises of San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans. This is the new Death Valley in NBA.
The division was formed in 2004-05 when Charlotte Bobcats were added to the league increasing the total number of teams to 30 from 29. Last year, all the teams made the NBA playoffs and the last team, the Pelicans finished with a .549 regular season record. If they were in the Eastern conference, they would have finished 6th just behind Wizards who had a .560 regular season record. So, eventually 5 of the 8 teams that made the playoffs are from the same division in the Western conference.
The best 5 players in the South Western division:
James Harden
Anthony Davis
Marc Gasol
Kawhi Leonard
Dirk Nowitzki
In the last 11 years, there were 6 conference champions from South West division. They will be there this season too. It may be either one of the reloaded Spurs or the Rockets. Our prediction is a Spurs/Rockets Vs Thunder/Warriors in conference finals. It is the Western conference; nobody would be able to predict the winner. But I guarantee you that the playoffs will be even more interesting than last year.
We are projecting 4 playoff teams from the division this year. It will be up to Pelicans and Mavericks to make up ground and play consistently to reach the playoffs. With OKC back in form and Suns making some noise, the Western conference will be tough as ever.
During the offseason, Spurs made the most of the summer signings. With an all-star front court and battle-tested guards, they are positioning themselves for another championship run. Houston addressed their issue at the point guard by signing Ty Lawson and they also got Terrence Jones back. Terrence Jones will be the X-factor similar to Andre Igoudala or Kawhi Leonard if the Rockets are going to win this season. Memphis will be solid and make a deep playoff run. They are the most consistent team in the conference and will have a chance to redeem themselves this season. As for Pelicans, they need consistent and great Guard plays to architect a winning season.
Predictions – There would be 4 playoff teams from the division. San Antonio Spurs will win the division, with Houston finishing a close second. The NBA finals will be played in Texas from the Western Conference. The Death Valley will live up to its name, the teams would average a loss record of 10 games when playing at home. There would be two top 5 MVP candidates in James Harden and Anthony Davis.
South West First team: Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Tony Parker
South West Second team: Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons , Mike Conley