Let's cut right to the chase: the Warriors are completely outmanned in this division. That's the bad news. The good news is that they have a decent chance of not finishing last, again.

Fear the Lakers. This is Phil Jackson's second season in his second stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, and we can just feel all the pieces coming together for him, bad hip and all. Kobe will be Kobe, which is a good base, but look for Lamar Odom to have a two-handed tomahawk of a year. In the other corner of the triangle, well, that's why the Lakers are going to be really tough this year. They have several guys that can step in and be the number three man. Luke Walton, Aaron McKie, Vladimir Radmanovic, even Maurice Evans can be that missing final ingredient.

And the Lakers have size. In addition to stiff Chris Mihm and unfulfilled Kwame Brown, Phil Jackson now has sevie Andrew Bynum, and this dude is going to be a load. Ronnie Turiaf offers even more depth on both ends of the floor.

The guards are the team's weak link, but with Kobe in the mix, that weak link is strong enough. This is very close to being a complete team, and you can be certain that the Zen Master will have them well centered by April.

Phil Jackson will have the Lakers smoking championship dope come playoff time. Photo from sactownroyalty.com

Sunburnt. The Suns are what the Warriors wish they could be. They are fast, athletic, and accurate. In addition to frontcourt beast Amare Stoudamire they have two-time reigning league MVP Steve Nash, who is the engine of the team. High-flying Shawn Marion, defensive stopper Raja Bell, and gifted guards Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa electrify on a nightly basis. They play hard and smart and scrap for every game, every point, every possession.

Here's the thing about the Phoenix Suns though. They've really been overachieving the last couple of years, especially last year when they played pretty much the entire season without Stoudamire. Credit Coach Mike D'Antoni for his personnel management skills.

There is a ceiling for how for far this team can go. The Suns are undersized and rely on their up-tempo offense to dictate the game. The Suns can score, but track meet basketball is not going to win championships, which is what people have in mind for the Suns after the success of the last couple of seasons. Ain't gonna happen. The NBA is a half court league in big games and in the playoffs. The Suns can continue to rack up 50-win seasons, but until they give more emphasis to the half court game, they won't win it all.

Expect the Suns to have to pay back a little of the good Karma they've been enjoying the last couple of years.

Clipped up. Elton Brand is going to be feeling a bit like Paul Pierce this year in Cliptown. Like, can I get a hand here? Anybody? Chris Kaman and Tim Thomas give them some proven size, but this is a guard-driven team with Sam Cassell riding herd on a host of slashing young players, including Daniel Ewing, Corey Maggette, and Cuttino Mobely. Guard-driven teams can be stopped.

They're good. They're exciting. They're intriguing. But they're not great. They lack depth and we see them wearing down over the course of the season. We also suspect that some heads on the team got really swollen up by last year's success and the eyes might be on the bling rather than the prize right now. It's LA after all.

The Clips had a franchise season last year, but this is the Clippers we're talking about, so we're expecting something to come along and derail the franchise in a horribly disfiguring fashion.

This season could be as good as 50 wins or as bad as missing the playoffs and Mike Dunleavy getting fired. We think the Clippers will start the season unfocused and ineffective. They'll get things under control by February, but by then it will be too late to really assert themselves as a dominant team in the league. They'll make the playoffs but get bounced in the first round. Hey, making the playoffs two years in a row is a dynasty for this franchise (and we know, we lived through the San Diego years).

Nellie's run-and-gunners. Better than last year, but not good enough to play in May.

Just don't call them the Queens (even if they play like it). Last year the Kings were destined for total mediocrity until they traded for Ron Artest in January. After that, they slowly picked up momentum, making the playoffs and even giving the San Antonio Spurs a little food for thought before bowing out in the first round. But in the offseason they lost their second best player, Bonzi Wells, to free agency and did basically nothing else. First round draft pick Quincy Douby will offer nothing substantial in the near term.

New coach Eric Musselman seemed like a shot in the arm until he had too many shots and got popped with a DUI. That seemed to take a lot of wind out of the franchise sails. Expect this team to struggle early to find its footing. That could turn Artest into a huge raging tantrum. Complete franchise meltdown won't be far behind.

It's going to be a frustrating year in the Delta.

Pacific Division, 2006-2007

• 1. LA Lakers, 56-26


• 2. Phoenix Suns, 53-29


• 3. LA Clippers, 49-33


• 4. Golden State Warriors, 42-40


• 5. Sacto Kings, 34-48