Since the Pacific Division's current alignment was put in place in 2004, all five teams have finished in the top two at some point or another. That's a lot of shifts in a 10-year span, especially with a guaranteed top-four playoff seed at stake for the division winner.
The 2014-15 campaign promises to be another competitive chapter, with the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Warriors and Kings all harboring realistic hopes of improvement. Suns.com got in touch with local beat writers to get their takes on their respective teams in advance of the upcoming season. A similar preview for Phoenix is also included.
Most encouraging factor...
Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: After the bench was historically awful last season, ranking near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories, the Warriors believe they can march out a legitimate NBA second unit this season with Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli. Having those kinds of options should really help first-time head coach Steve Kerr.
Daniel Woike, Orange County Register: The Clippers realized how big of an albatross former owner Donald Sterling was during the playoffs, when the team became the center of a national media frenzy. Instead of dealing with questions about walkouts or boycotts this training camp, players will get to talk about new owner Steve Ballmer's enthusiasm.
Ballmer has vowed to turn the Clippers into a first-class organization. The team should have all resources available from training equipment to analytics software.
While he'll never score a basket for the Clippers, there's no doubt their biggest acquisition this summer was Ballmer.
Byron Scott Hired as Lakers Coach
Bill Oram, Orange County Register: There are actually a number of positive signs for the Lakers as they try to move past the worst season in Los Angeles history. Kobe Bryant appears to be healthy (at least enough so to play), Steve Nash is feeling better, and everyone is excited to see rookie Julius Randle. However, given the absolute disaster of last year's campaign, the hiring of Byron Scott was perhaps the most positive development. Not because Mike D'Antoni was a bad guy, or incapable of turning around the franchise, but because the organization needed an overall shot in the arm. Scott, a Lakers legend, arrives with the cache to buy the rebuilding franchise a bit of time with its fan base.
Matt Petersen, Suns.com: Phoenix brings back nearly all of the ingredients for last season's success. That's a big deal for a young core that should only improve after a season and summer's worth of growth. It's also added a 20-points-per-game scorer (Isaiah Thomas), the ACC Player of the Year (T.J. Warren) and a healthy Alex Len to that mix. Combine that with a similar year's worth of seasoning for Head Coach Jeff Hornacek and his staff, and there's a lot to like coming off of an already imperssive 48-win season.
DeMarcus Cousins Top 10 Plays of 2013-14
Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee: DeMarcus Cousins figures to only get better coming off a career season. He averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds last season and should benefit from a full season playing with Rudy Gay. Cousins is arguably the most talented center in the NBA, and if he continues to improve, figures to be an All-Star.
The Kings are encouraged by Cousins' play for Team USA in winning gold in the FIBA World Cup. Cousins was a defensive presence off the bench and played with high energy. The Kings believe that will carry over into the 2014-15 season.
Biggest question mark...
Warriors Top 10 Plays of 2013-14
Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: … In a word: health. Andre Iguodala, David Lee, Livington, Rush and Ezeli are all coming off surgical procedures. Andrew Bogut missed the playoffs with a fractured rib, Nemanja Nedovic and Ognjen Kuzmic missed the FIBA Basketball World Cup with physical ailments, and Stephen Curry's ankles always scare Warriors fans.
Daniel Woike, Orange County Register: The Clippers biggest question after this offseason is "How good of a defensive coach is Doc Rivers?" The team's additions won't help them defend better on the perimeter, and Rivers is counting on his ability to teach a system to make up for individual defensive deficiencies.
Bill Oram, Orange County Register: Can these guys stay healthy? The Lakers combined to miss a mind-bending 319 games last season. Many players from that team are back. While the team is optimistic about Bryant and Nash this season, they are two of the oldest players in the league. Injuries are a legitimate concern. With a supporting cast not significantly upgraded from last season (if at all) keeping this group healthy is of utmost importance.
Ryan McDonough Discusses Suns' Outlook
Matt Petersen, Suns.com: Can Phoenix muster enough interior production? The majority of the Suns' success stemmed from its dual guard play. That aspect of their game is even stronger with the addition of Isaiah Thomas. But Phoenix needs to be at least at the forward and center spots, where all too often they received a trio of single-digit-scoring performances.
Markieff Morris is a potential starter now, and Marcus Morris, T.J. Warren and P.J. Tucker are all small-ball options at power forward as well. Between that and offseason improvement from Miles Plumlee and Alex Len, the Suns are hoping someone down low can step up.
Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee: The Kings are still looking for someone to fill the role of starting power forward long term. Jason Thompson could begin the season starting, but so could Reggie Evans or even Derrick Williams.
Don't be surprised to see Gay play some power forward this season, too. The Kings will look to get their five best players on the court at one time, and that could mean using Gay to create mismatches at power forward. Ideally, however, the Kings would like to have a long-term answer at the position.
X-factor player...
Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: Klay Thompson. Whether he likes it or not, the shooting guard is going to be compared to Kevin Love all season because the Warriors could have acquired Love for Thompson. Add to the mix that Thompson could sign close to a max extension this offseason, and there will be a lot of eyes and X's on his every move.
DeAndre Jordan Top 10 Plays of 2013-14
Daniel Woike, Orange County Register: DeAndre Jordan starred in his first season under Rivers, leading the NBA in rebounding and working his way into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
While the team is banking on Chris Paul to be healthy and Blake Griffin to take another step forwards, Jordan's continued devolpment as a defensive anchor is the biggest reason to believe the Clippers are title contenders.
This team shouldn't have issues scoring. If the Clippers can stop teams from scoring, look out.
Bill Oram, Orange County Register: All roads lead back to Kobe and his health. But in the interest of diversity, let's go with Carlos Boozer. The power forward was a forgotten piece in Chicago and is far from the All-Star he was alongside Deron Williams with the Jazz. But Boozer is still only 32 (two years younger than the departed Pau Gasol) and averaged nearly 14 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season. He came at a bargain-basement price for the Lakers thanks to an amnesty claim, and a resurgence from him is key to the Lakers' dreams of a postseason run.
Plumlee Hammers It Home
Matt Petersen, Suns.com: With Frye gone, Miles Plumlee finds himself more vital than ever to the Suns' frontcourt success. Again, Len is healthy, but until he's a proven contributor, it will be up to the third-year center to hold down the fort for more than the 23 minutes per game he averaged last season.
Plumlee's per-minute production was good, and he was stellar overall in the first two months of last season. Fatigue and a second-year "rookie wall" (he played just 55 minutes in his actual rookie season) saw him tail off once the calendar flipped, but he should be rejuvenated after summer league play and an invite to the USA Select Team. If he can take another step forward, Phoenix would be that much more solid in the middle.
Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee: Darren Collison wasn't signed to play like Isaiah Thomas, who he'll replace in the starting lineup. The Kings want him to be less of a scorer and more of a pace setter on offene. They want Collison causing problems on defense by pressuring the ball to set up fast break chances off turnovers.
If Collison can do that and still prove to be a viable offensive threat, that could be enough to help fans not long for Thomas, who was extremely popular among fans in Sacramento.