Our second stop in the Western Conference is the Northwest Division where the Oklahoma City Thunder remains the team to beat. Like last year, the Thunder will be joined by the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz in their pursuit of the Larry O’Brien trophy. With these three teams projected as being playoff bound, the Portland Trailblazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the outside looking in.

The Timberwolves were aggressive this offseason as they acquired Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy and Alexey Shved, all to complement Kevin Love. Unfortunately, the knee injury sustained by Ricky Rubio last year will likely keep the dynamic playmaker out of action until at least late December. The new players will detract some from Love’s fantasy numbers, and the absence of a creative point guard will hurt; however, he remains the best fantasy option on the Timberwolves.

The Portland Trailblazers figure they improved their roster by letting Raymond Felton leave along with Jamal Crawford. The Blazers lineup is thin all around as it lacks experience and depth off the bench. Portland fans should prepare themselves for another year of lottery draft speculation. However, hope may be on the horizon. If sixth overall pick Damian Lillard can continue to impress and Nicolas Batum lives up to his contract, then the Blazers should be able to turn their fortunes around. As for long-term fantasy value, you have to look for consistency, and LaMarcus Aldridge is the guy on this Blazers squad. 

Kevin Love – Minnesota Timberwolves
This 6’10” power forward continues to be a top producer at his position position. I don’t have Kevin Love as high on my draft board as many others because don’t believe him to be the third or fourth pick off the board. However, it is tough to argue against someone who posted 48 double doubles last season in only 55 games played. Love can have those monster games that make fantasy general managers drool because, in any given game, he could go for 30 points and 20 boards.

I don’t value Love as high as last year because the Timberwolves have more contributors on the roster this year that will ultimately take away from Love’s production. Kirilenko and Roy figure to shoulder some of the scoring load, while Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic will take away from Love’s rebounding numbers. Love is still a top-tier power forward in all leagues; however, watch for him to be over-valued in salary cap leagues. 

LaMarcus Aldridge - Portland Trailblazers
This seven-year veteran will be the focal point of the offence and will play big minutes for the Trailblazers. Aldridge is coming off a season that saw him post 21.7 ppg and 8 rpg. Expect these numbers to increase, as this power forward will be called upon to lead his team at both ends of the floor. When discussing the better fantasy options at the power forward position, too often LaMarcus gets undervalued; with more recognized names like Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh, Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki and Amare Stoudemire getting shown more fantasy love on draft day. Truth of the matter is that Aldridge out-performed all of them, and there is no reason to think he won’t do it again this season.

With no other real scoring options on the Blazers squad, I expect this University of Texas product to post averages closer to 25 ppg and over 10 boards per contest. Look to steal this power forward if he slips in your draft or surprise your fellow General Managers and snag him early. I value LaMarcus as a top-five fantasy contributor in the power forward spot.