National Basketball Association

Northwest preview: Will Thunder roll?

Published Oct. 19, 2010 6:47 p.m. ET

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There’s plenty of variety in this division: One team on the way up, one on the way down, one stuck in the cellar, and two seeking a return to glory.

DENVER NUGGETS

Until Carmelo Anthony is traded, the Nuggets will be a mess. How can a player commit to 100-percent effort and team unity with such a big sword hanging over his head? The front office wants to make a deal, but they really don’t know how and are also paralyzed by the fear of making a laughable mistake.

Wherever he winds up, 'Melo is the most versatile scorer in the league, but has indifferent defense and an indifferent attitude.

Chauncey Billups is 34 and, like the team as a whole, is on the downside of his game.

Ty Lawson is the heir apparent, but needs to develop his long-distance dialing.

J.R. Smith is an explosive scorer, but is incredibly undependable. He plays best when the team is winning.

Kenyon Martin is wearing out. Anyway, his mouth is bigger than his game.

Nene remains under-utilized and foul-prone. Hmmm. Perhaps there’s a connection here.

Al Harrington’s game can be reduced to this: Me-Ball-Basket.

Chris Andersen is all hustle and little else.

The Nuggets peaked in 2009 during the conference finals versus the Lakers. Even so, back then they lacked the heart to take a giant step forward — and they still do. Look for impressive blowouts against weak teams, frustrating losses against elite teams and, above all, uncertainty.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

This team of mismatched parts has nowhere to go, and no means of getting there.

Michael Beasley is the NBA’s Peter Pan — he can fly but doesn’t want to grow up.

Kevin Love rebounds, makes exceptional outlet passes, but can’t finish in a crowd or defend under any circumstances.

Darko Milicic is a continuing puzzle. Can he or can’t he play? Since he’s penciled in as a starter, this will be his season of decision.

Jonny Flynn has the capabilities of eventually becoming a slightly above-average point guard.

Luke Ridnour is the only pure point on the roster.

The remainder of the T-Wolves’ cast of characters is filled with guys who are either also-rans or never-weres. This team is still on the bottom and looking up with little hopes of climbing into the ranks of solid mediocrity.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Kevin Durant is an explosive scorer who tends to get bullied by powerhouse defenders. Still, his skills and attitude certainly qualify him as a legitimate franchise player.

Jeff Green is average at best, and woeful at worst.

Nenad Krstic is a center who plays like a forward. The more he plays the worse the Thunder will be.

Russell Westbrook is quick to the rim, yet isn’t close to being a facilitating point guard.

Eric Maynor is another speedster, but has trouble navigating set offenses.

Nick Collison is maximum hustle and minimal talent.

With a bit more consistency, James Harden could evolve into one of the most dynamic scorers-off-the-bench in the NBA.

Serge Ibaka’s development (or lack thereof) is the key to the season.

Beware of overrating the Thunder on the basis of their performance against the Lakers in last season’s playoffs. That’s because the Lakers weren’t mentally prepared to face such a young and hungry team in the first round, and also because in any series Phil Jackson’s teams need about four games to adjust to their opponents’ game plan.

In sum, the Thunder are still a few players and a few years from succeeding in prime-time competition.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

It’s now or never for this edition of the Blazers.

Greg Oden is strong, slow and an injury looking for a time and place to happen. He’s certainly not the keystone of a team that harbors championship fantasies.

LaMarcus Aldridge is a runner and master of the turn-around jump shot. No beef on his bones, and no approaches to the rim in half-court sets.

Brandon Roy is Mr. Everything. Unfortunately, the Blazers need at least two of him to get where they want to go. He does, however, have to be quicker with the ball.

Marcus Camby is an overrated shot-blocker and finesse rebounder. He would be best used as a backup.

Jerryd Bayless is strong and still learning how to run an offense.

At 34, Andre Miller has lost a step. But he’s so slow that it’s hard to tell.

Joel Przybilla is one of the best defensive centers in the league. All recuperations being equal, he’s still more useful than Oden.

Wes Matthews is the sleeper. If he can become a dependable point-maker, then Roy can relax and not have to force his offense.

The nuisance factor raised by Rudy Fernandez’s discontent should not be minimized. Either play him, trade him or let him take his ball and go home.

Too many jump shots, not enough post-up scoring, and insufficient defense will make this team much better at home than on the road. However, Nate McMillan will get the most out of these guys.

UTAH JAZZ

There’s no question that Deron Williams is the top point guard in the league. All he needs to demonstrate his remarkable skills is for Jerry Sloan to give him more freedom to fully exercise his mojo.

Is Andrei Kirilenko here or gone? An excellent role player who can hit treys (but takes too many of them) and plays terrific ball-hawking defense.

Paul Millsap is an aggressive but undersized big man. Which is why Sloan has to be careful to avoid mismatches.

Al Jefferson is the X-factor. If he can be convinced/cajoled/threatened into opening up his cramped vision on offense and also to play at least acceptable defense, then AJ will make Jazz fans quickly forget the departed Carlos Boozer. That’s a huge “if”.

C.J. Miles is a valuable shooter/scorer.

Mehmet Okur is slow, defenseless and relatively non-athletic, but has good hands and can knock down 3-balls. Unfortunately, against elite opponents Okur gives up more than he takes.

Raja Bell is 34 and used to be a belligerent defender with deadly 3-point range. But does he have anything left?

Kyrylo Fesenko is touted as being a long-term prospect with a big up-side, but for the foreseeable future he’s still a big stiff.

The Jazz will occasionally out-execute and out-hustle premier opponents when playing in Utah, and be mostly pushovers against the same teams on the road. They’re a good team, but not nearly good enough to even dream of usurping the Lakers.