Reality Checks for Every Northwest Squad

As the regular season winds down, all 30 teams have a different outlook on things as they prepare to enter either the postseason or their offseason. In order to placate fans, organizations will hype up their futures, making promises to either maintain or improve their level of winning. But oftentimes, these promises are unrealistic, especially with how unpredictable the NBA is in today’s world. Here’s a look at each Northwest team and the obstacles standing in their way.

Denver Nuggets: The Rarity of Dynasties

Looking at this Nuggets squad, there is almost nothing bad that can be said about them. They’re led by a future all-time great in Nikola Jokić and have one of, if not the best five man lineup in the entire Association. They are deservedly one of the favorites to repeat as NBA champions this year, showing off the second half consistency that has come to typify their efforts in the last few seasons. However, history does not favor their efforts to repeat their title efforts. That, coupled with their exceedingly good health being perhaps too good to be true, could come back to haunt them later on in the year. The only other knock on this team was the lack of production from their younger players, but improved performances from Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther have silenced those critiques.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Young Teams Don’t Win!

The Thunder are the surprise team of this NBA season. Both fans and the league as a whole expected them to improve on last year’s campaign, but not nearly as much as they have. MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading one of the youngest teams in the league to presumably a top three finish in the Western Conference at the absolute worst. Most top seeds are expected to win at least one playoff series, but speculations around OKC continue. Chet Holmgren puts up good defensive metrics, but has come up short when facing premier bigs, like the Joker, Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis and others. What happens if they draw the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs? While a first round exit wouldn’t be the most disappointing thing in the world for the Thunder, but it would show them that they still have work to do before they reach the pinnacle of their powers.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Too Much of a One-Man Band

Anthony Edwards has been amazing this entire season, propelling the Wolves to the top of the Western Conference standings with his electric play. Unfortunately, the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns has hurt Minnesota’s roster since he went down with his injury. Without him on the floor, the offense has become much less dynamic and easier to handle, with teams able to put more of a focus on containing Edwards. The rest of the Wolves’ roster have played as well as they have throughout the season, but without some of them stepping up, the ceiling for Minnesota is significantly lowered. KAT is expected to return at some point in the postseason, but one question looms large. Will the Timberwolves be in the playoffs long enough for Towns to give the team the boost they need?

Utah Jazz: Falling Behind in the Arms Race

After being in contention for a play-in spot for most of the year, long losing streaks have seen the Jazz drop out of the race. It’s time for the organization to move on into the offseason and decide on what the next step is for them. General manager Danny Ainge has voiced his desires to compete with this roster, but looking at things, it’s hard to believe that significant improvements can be made. Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson are who they are, and neither of them is a bona-fide #1 option on a top-tier team in the NBA. Expect the Jazz to try to sell as many players as they can and begin a rebuild so they can build their way back into contention. Rebuilding is a natural part of the progression for every team, but the key is understanding that it is necessary and entering it with a solid plan so you aren’t stuck in purgatory like other teams have been in the past.

Portland Trail Blazers: Not Every Rookie is Going to be a StuD

The Blazers remain one of the most volatile places in the current NBA landscape. Fans expect a return to the competitiveness that they enjoyed when the team was led by future Hall-of-Famer Damian Lillard and are trying to convince their fans that they potentially have two or three future stars on their roster amongst their slew of young players, headlined by Shaedon Sharpe, DeAndre Ayton and Scoot Henderson. Both the front office and fanbase should be ready to accept, though, that not all of them are going to live up to their full potential. Busts are far more common than hits in the draft, but if one of these young players hits, that could be enough to accelerate the rebuild in a similar way that the OKC Thunder have.