Loaded Western Conference will test Warriors next season
Many years have passed since the NBA’s Western Conference was this deep. We may be looking at an alltime high in widespread excellence. All of which puts the Warriors in an interesting position heading into next season.
They certainly will make the playoffs, for that’s how it must be for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as they reestablish some of the league’s basic truths. Beyond that? Potential mayhem at every stop — and that’s great for the league.
The Lakers will return with
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Avery Bradley (who is missed on both ends of the floor) and, undoubtedly, better outside shooting. The Clippers won’t let Kawhi Leonard and Paul George escape as unrestricted free agents this summer, nor should either man even consider leaving his beloved Southern California at this stage.
There’s no forecasting the offseason transition in Utah, Denver, Houston or Oklahoma City, but those teams are obvious threats with the type of star power that makes a difference — and after a season in which Golden State fell to the very bottom, they won’t be quite as intimidated by their longtime nemesis.
Dallas will be an ascending powerhouse with the fabulous Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and an appealing locale for free
agents. So that’s seven reputable teams without even mentioning Portland, currently in tatters but not to be discounted with Damian Lillard in charge. Then there’s Memphis, extremely dangerous when Ja Morant’s young teammates are healthy, and New Orleans if executive vice president David Griffin builds a cohesive roster to surround Zion Williamson. Even Phoenix could be a load with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and head coach Monty Williams, who deftly guided the Suns through an 80 showing in Orlando.
The league still needs to figure out when the season will start, whether fans will be allowed in the stands (don’t count on it, the way so much of this country ignores a pandemic), how many games can be played, and whether another bubble must created. For the moment, call it a twosided win for the NBA: The Orlando experiment is working, and the list of compelling, watchable teams continues to grow. Elsewhere: Doncic’s epic Game 4 against the Clippers will forever stand with the alltime performances: 43 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists and a gamewinning 28footer at the overtime buzzer, all of it on a mildly sprained left ankle. “From another planet,” is how Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle described it, and there were rave Twitter reviews from Curry, James, Lillard, Dwyane Wade, Manu Ginobili, Andre Iguodala and many others.
It seemed everyone was deeply moved but Shaquille O’Neal on TNT. “Tone it down a bit,” he said on the postgame show. “We’ve seen this before.” Well, of course we have. Doncic called up the memories of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, James, Curry, Lillard, Jerry West, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan in their most memorable games, and that was the beauty. This was no time for Shaq to get all rude with “Stop it,” one of his trademark mumbles.
Doncic was 16 when he turned pro, leaving his native Slovenia to join Real Madrid and soon perform against grown men in the cauldrons of Greece, Serbia and Turkey, among other tempestuous locales. This explains a great deal about the player who only this year turned 21. “It don’t matter who’s talking to him, he’s not going to back down from nobody,” teammate Trey Burke said. “It kind of raises his level of play, to be honest.”
Great to see: The other Curry, Seth, truly emerging as a frontline NBA player. The Mavericks will use him at any time, particularly in the final minutes, if they need scoring — and he’s been scorching hot. At one point in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Clippers, Curry was 26for37 from the floor in the series.
Nobody knows James Wiseman’s game better than former NBA guard Penny Hardaway, who coached him in high school and at Memphis. “To me, he’s the No. 1 overall pick and that’s Minnesota,” Hardaway told commercialappeal.com. “I think him and KAT (KarlAnthony Towns) can really work well together. They would be an unbelievable twosome, the way the league is going now, having two rim protectors and guys that are highly skilled out on the perimeter. James is going to work on getting his shot to where he can get out to the 3point line and be a threat from there.”
The smallball Rockets have found a match in Oklahoma City, especially when the Thunder unleash the threeguard tandem of Chris Paul, Shai GilgeousAlexander and Dennis Schroder, and in a series tied 22, a familiar pattern has resurfaced: Houston has no answer when its 3point shots aren’t falling. While Paul and his teammates consistently drained clutch midrange shots, the Rockets hoisted an NBArecord 58 3pointers — and missed 21 of their last 26. What an embarrassment. They’re going to need a healthy Russell Westbrook to get through this series.
Iguodala couldn’t be in a better place: Miami, with its fierce work ethic (led by Jimmy Butler) and a relentless attack featuring a little bit of everything. Now it’s a secondround series likely against Milwaukee, and whether you’re looking at numbers or just using your eyes, the Heat’s Bam Adebayo plays Giannis Antetokounmpo tougher than any defender in the league.
The great leaders always show up on time. After masterfully guiding their teams to important wins, James and Paul spoke only of the larger issues: the brutal shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., and the nationwide need to vote. Milwaukee guard George Hill spoke powerfully as well, saying, “I know the cops are probably upset (Blake is) still alive, because I know they surely tried to kill him. But to almost take a man’s life, especially in front of one’s kids, that wasn’t resisting, in his back at pointblank range, is a heartless and gutless situation. We need some justice for that . ... You’re supposed to look at the police to protect and serve. Now, it’s looked at harass or shoot.”
Bruce Jenkins is a columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: bjenkins@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1