Our final stop in the Western Conference is the Pacific Division, where the Los Angeles-based teams are poised to dominate this weak division. The Lakers served notice to the rest of the league that they are back in the hunt for another championship, as they pulled off the Dwight Howard trade and acquired Steve Nash to complement Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. By comparison, the Clippers need Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to get healthy and are counting on Jamal Crawford to be a consistent outside scorer. If Lamar Odom can resurrect his career alongside the versatile Caron Butler and the ageless wonder that is Grant Hill; the Clippers will cruise to another playoff berth.
Once again, the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors will be left out of the post season. These teams didn’t make any significant free agent additions, instead choosing to rebuild through the draft. As a result, they will be lottery bound again. While each of these three teams won’t have any playoff impact, they still offer decent players with fantasy value.
DeMarcus Cousins - Sacramento Kings
This third-year Kentucky Wildcat product has shown his consistency at the center position. Cousins posted 36 double doubles last season and finished the season with 18.1 ppg and 10.9 rpg averages. Cousins needs to continue his maturation process that will hopefully see his fouls per game decrease and allow for him to log more minutes per game.
As far as centers go, DeMarcus should be considered a top five pick. His production has increased in each of his first two years, and this year figures to be no different. If Cousins can increase his block shot averages and his field goal percentages, he is a viable option at the center position and could go as high as third off the board.
Goran Dragic,- Phoenix Suns
The heir apparent to Steve Nash in Phoenix has some huge shoes to fill to be sure. Dragic came to Phoenix from the Houston Rockets, where despite only starting 28 games last season, he is now penciled in as the suns everyday starting point guard. Dragic will get plenty of opportunity for the Suns to show what he can do, as first round draft pick Kendall Marshall is going to be eased in slowly.
In a limited starting role for Rockets last season, where he averaged 36.5 minutes per game, he posted averages 18 points and 8.4 assists per game. Safe bet that Dragic will see similar minutes in Phoenix. Unfortunately for Goran, he simply does not have much in the way of offensive weapons around him in Phoenix. I don’t value Dragic very high for point guards, simply because he has no supporting cast to help him carry the offence.
Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
This oft-injured guard is coming off a disappointing injury-filled season that saw him play in only 26 games for the Warriors. Curry has been and continues to be a question mark for many fantasy General Managers due to his inability to finish out a season. When healthy, Curry is a sweet shooting point guard, who passes and rebounds well. If healthy, Curry is easily a top ten point guard in most all leagues. However given the history of reoccurring ankle injuries, I would not consider drafting Curry that high this season. He may play the entire season and post decent numbers, or he may be lost for the year prior to the All-Star game. The fantasy risk-reward for drafting Curry is high; however, I prefer stability at the point guard spot.