West is best! And if you don't believe that simply by looking at the stats, let me try and convince you:

WESTERN CONFERENCE
The top three teams in the NBA still reside in the wild west - San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas. The Suns/Spurs memorable western 2007 semi-final showdown was the NBA Finals in effect, and the rest of the play-offs were downhill from there after Dallas were upset and the Spurs had a relatively easy road to the title.
 
Phoenix are hungry for revenge this time round, and that, along with veteran Grant Hill, should finally put them into the winner's circle.
 
Midwest Division:
The league's best division, with two of the top three teams in the league residing there and another 50-win capable team in Houston. Too bad for Memphis and New Orleans, two fairly talented young teams, that they play in this grouping and out west. They could probably both contend in the east for a play-off spot.
 
1) Dallas Mavericks (59-63 wins):
The Mavs actually over-achieved to win 67 games last year with only one true star in reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki, one good player in Josh Howard, and some pretty good complementary players in Terry and Stackhouse. Unless they get some other scoring help for Dirk, it makes sense to make others beat you.

Avery Johnson had a great season but terrible play-offs when he adjusted his line-up to face the Warriors, a team they beat by 25 games in the regular season. Plus, Nellie has him intimidated and knew how to defend the Mavs better than anyone. And he also wanted to beat Cuban badly.

2) San Antonio Spurs (57-61 wins):
The Spurs won four of the last nine NBA titles. Everyone knows about Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, last year's Finals MVP, but Manu Ginobili is their clutch play-maker. When they need a big play to be created, they clear out for Manu to drive, score or dish. It remains to be seen if the Spurs can win it all again with an aging non-scorer in Bruce Bowen and an aging Michael Finley playing big minutes.

3) Houston Rockets (45-49 wins):
New coach Rick Adelman inherits a team with two big stars in Yao and the rickety Tracy McGrady. What the complementary players do will determine how far they can go; Rafer Alston and Shane Battier are not good enough, and Argentine import Luis Scola is unproven. The Rockets are too weak at the point and small forward to really contend in the loaded west.

4) New Orleans Hornets (36-40 wins):
The Hornets are back in New Orleans, Louisiana, this season for all 41 games. They have some talent and should contend for the play-offs behind point guard Chris Paul and clutch-shooting David West. I am not sure if Byron Scott is the man to get them there as coach, however. They may miss the crowd energy of Oklahoma City, their home away form home the past few seasons following Hurricane Katrina.
 
5) Memphis Grizzlies (32-35 wins):
New head coach Marc Iavaroni has some talent to work with with inside scorer Pau Gasol, explosive second-year small forward Rudy Gay, sweet-shooting swing man Mike Miller and rookie point guard Mike Conley. In this very rugged division they will be exciting to watch with the Suns style in place (with Iavaroni bringing the system from Phoenix to Memphis), but will be lucky to win 35 games.

Northwest Division:
The worst division out west was weakened with the injury to rookie Greg Oden. Utah and Denver are far ahead of the rebuilding Blazers, Sonics and T-Wolves.

1) Utah Jazz (50-54 wins):
The Jazz will be hard-pressed to reach the west finals again even though they might be better. The draw fell into place for them last year as Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer emerged as stars as the new version of Stockton and Malone light. IF Andrei Kirilenko displays the skills that should make him one of the best all-around players in the world, and IF they get some perimeter shooting, they will win the division and contend for the title.

Former sharp-shooter Jeff Hornacek is back to coach shooting, which they have lacked since his retirement five years ago. Center Mehmet Okur is the team's best shooter and is a clutch 3-point bomber. Two guard is a weakness and will keep them from going further, unless second-year man Ronnie Brewer develops and inconsistent Gordan Giricek steps up.
 
2) Denver Nuggets (46-49 wins):
The one-two scoring punch of Carmelo Anthony and AIan Iverson gives the Nuggets a lot of scoring but questionable chemistry. Nene and Marcus Camby are tough inside on the boards and defensively, as is Kenyon Martin, if healthy. But they won't get many touches. The Nuggets will miss unselfish point guard Steve Blake, who solidified the team and played strong defense while hitting the open jumper like a poor man's Mo Cheeks or John Stockton. Blake went to Portland and Denver will need someone else to sacrifice his shots to satisfy Melo and AI.

3) Seattle Sonics (31-35 wins):
The Sonics could be third if Robert Swift returns at center, Wally Szcerzbiak plays like he can and Kevin Durant plays like the probable Rookie of the Year. Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson are a solid tandem at the point. Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison are solid at power forward. But this looks like it will be their last year after 41 seasons in the Emerald City, and the proposed move to Oklahoma City (hometown of owner Clay Bennett) could well be a big distraction.

4) Portland Blazers (28-33 wins):
The loss of 7-1 rookie Greg Oden to injury was a major blow, and they traded top scorer Zach Randolph to New York. But Oden's loss will help last year's number two pick, underrated 6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge, develop. Brandon Roy looks like a top notch two-guard for years to come, and Steve Blake is a solid addition at the point. But Nate McMillan's team is a year away from even thinking about contending for the play-offs.
 
5) Minneosta Timberwolves (25-29 wins):
The T-Wolves actually got the best of the deal with Boston - in the long run. Al Jefferson is a definite keeper and much younger than Garnett. But the Wolves will struggle for the next year or two. Kevin McHale got the better of former teammate and buddy Danny Ainge in the long run with the trade. But Ainge won in the short term.

Up next: The Pacific Division where there is a big gap between the top (Phoenix) and the rest of the division. The bottom four could also finish within 6-to-8 games of one another. And if Kobe Bryant gets traded it could really upset the balance of the rest of the division.