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NORTHWEST DIVISION

GUARDS
RUSSELL WESTBROOK can do whatever he wants inside the arc and will continue to be a shoot-first point guard . . . JAMES HARDEN will likely keep coming off the bench, but he'll also keep playing starter's minutes . . . THABO SEFOLOSHA is OKC's best perimeter defender. But his role won't become more prominent until the postseason . . . ERIC MAYNOR should be just about all the way back from his torn ACL. When healthy, he's one of the league's best backup point guards . . . DAEQUAN COOK will see limited minutes as a three-point specialist . . . REGGIE JACKSON's role will shrink to near nothing if Maynor is healthy.

FORWARDS
KEVIN DURANT continues to do it all, and has done nothing but steadily improve each season . . . SERGE IBAKA is obviously an elite shot-blocker, but he continues to get lost in space. He's made some strides as a pick-and-roll defender, but that weakness is why he doesn't play 30 minutes per night . . . NICK COLLISON will continue to steal a lot of Ibaka's minutes because he defends the pick-and-roll better, and because he draws so many charges, he's almost as good in help situations . . . PERRY JONES III is an incredible athlete, but needs a year or two to learn the game . . . LAZAR HAYWARD is back as a 12th man.

CENTERS
KENDRICK PERKINS will continue to start, but is a part-time player. The Thunder are often better with a small lineup. While Perkins is a bruiser he is too easy to exploit as a defender in space . . . COLE ALDRICH could be ready for a slightly bigger role off the bench . . . HASHEEM THABEET is a reclamation project. There's a sliver of long-term hope, but he won't help this year.

StatFox Take: The Thunder are pretty much the same exact team that won the West last season, taking the division by nine games in a shortened campaign. The team now has the experience to make a third straight deep postseason run, with 9-to-5 odds to reach the NBA Finals again. Considering the Lakers are the only team that can compete with OKC’s star power, this is a pretty smart wager.

DENVER NUGGETS

2011-12 SU record: 41-32 SU (56.2%), 11th in NBA
2011-12 ATS record: 40-33 ATS (54.8%), 4th in NBA
Odds to Win 2012-13 Northwest Division: 7-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 Western Conference: 25-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 NBA Championship: 40-to-1

GUARDS
TY LAWSON has emerged as the closest thing to a No. 1 option on this team, and despite his size, he's proven capable of playing full-time minutes. He'll continue to post big numbers in an up-tempo system that suits him perfectly . . . ANDRE MILLER will both back up Lawson and share the court with him at times (though Andre Iguodala figures to play a lot of two this season). The steady veteran is one of the league's most underrated sixth men . . . It's a bit surprising that EVAN FOURNIER is making the jump to the NBA this year. His size and skill combo will be nice on the wing one day, but he's unlikely to contribute this year . . . JULYAN STONE will be out until January after offseason hip surgery, but he should be Lawson's main backup upon his return.

FORWARDS
DANILO GALLINARI is their most complete offensive player. If healthy, he's capable of being a 20-PPG scorer . . . ANDRE IGUODALA should enjoy the much faster pace Denver plays at. He'll see full-time minutes between both wing spots . . . KENNETH FARIED isn't a skilled big, but he's a high-energy guy who can get his own points off offensive rebounds . . . WILSON CHANDLER could end up leading their second unit in minutes and points . . . COREY BREWER is a front office favorite. He'll stay in the rotation as a defensive presence/glue guy . . . JORDAN HAMILTON could break into the rotation. He's one-dimensional, but has the offensive skills . . . Denver will try to solve the ANTHONY RANDOLPH riddle. Don't expect it to happen this year.

CENTERS
Denver is all-in on internet punchline JaVALE McGEE. They'll give the athletic 7-footer every chance to become the star they think he can be. Whether the flaky McGee can capitalize is questionable . . . TIMOFEY MOZGOV is one of the NBA's best screeners, but his touches will be limited . . . KOSTA KOUFOS has quietly developed into a usable rotation player, but he might be squeezed out of minutes.

StatFox Take: The Nuggets are clearly the second-best team in the Northwest, and they still have the horses that can lead the NBA in points for a third straight season. Newcomer Andre Iguodala provides arguably the most valuable versatility in the entire league, but losing their best perimeter defender in Arron Afflalo will hurt come playoff time.

UTAH JAZZ

2011-12 SU record: 36-34 SU (51.4%), T-16th in NBA
2011-12 ATS record: 34-34-2 ATS (50.0%), T-16th in NBA
Odds to Win 2012-13 Northwest Division: 20-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 Western Conference: 50-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 NBA Championship: 100-to-1

GUARDS
MO WILLIAMS will get a crack at running the point in Utah. He's more of a combo guard, but he'll do fine in an offense that revolves around the bigs . . . RANDY FOYE is a gunning combo guard who will step in as Utah's sixth man . . . ALEC BURKS started to come on late last year, making Raja Bell expendable. He'll come off the bench, but if he can start knocking down perimeter shots, he's in for a much bigger role . . . Yeah, that's right, EARL WATSON and JAMAAL TINSLEY are both still around. And they're both riding pine in Salt Lake . . . KEVIN MURPHY is a cagey scorer from tiny Tennessee Tech (no word on his Golden Tee skills).

FORWARDS
PAUL MILLSAP was Utah's best all-around player last season and will be playing for a new contract. He should be able to keep his minutes despite Utah's young bigs behind him . . . GORDON HAYWARD will probably slide to the two. He has a chance for a breakout year after a strong finish to 2011-12 . . . MARVIN WILLIAMS gets a fresh start in Utah after a disappointing run in Atlanta. He figures to have a similar complementary role with the Jazz . . . DERRICK FAVORS is a long-term solution in the frontcourt. His offensive game is coming on, and he's already a far better defender than Al Jefferson . . . Slam dunk champion JEREMY EVANS and DeMARRE CARROLL will both provide energy off the bench.

CENTERS
Like Millsap, AL JEFFERSON will hit free agency after the season. He's an incredibly limited player, a great scorer in the low post, but incapable of any other contributions and a huge liability on defense . . . ENES KANTER is still a few years away from a starting job. He has some rough edges to his game, but really had no problem adjusting to the physicality of the NBA.

StatFox Take: The Jazz do not have any superstars capable of taking over a game or hitting the big shot in crunch time. They do not make enough threes as a team to knock off opponents with superior talent either. Utah’s odds are just not long enough to justify a wagering on them to be this season’s surprise team.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

2011-12 SU record: 26-40 SU (39.4%), 21st in NBA
2011-12 ATS record: 31-33-2 ATS (48.4%), 20th in NBA
Odds to Win 2012-13 Northwest Division: 50-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 Western Conference: 60-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 NBA Championship: 100-to-1

GUARDS
RICKY RUBIO could be back by late December, but even he's not confident his knee will be 100 percent. His minutes might have to be scaled back . . . LUKE RIDNOUR will handle the offense with Rubio hampered. The vet is a steady hand in coach Rick Adelman's Euro-style offense . . . They're counting on BRANDON ROY to reclaim his old form after a radical knee procedure. He may never be 100 percent, but he should at least give them sixth-man minutes . . . CHASE BUDINGER is a three-point marksman who moves well off the ball, a perfect fit in Adelman's system . . . J.J. BAREA will take some of the point guard burden as well. He's a top sixth man . . . ALEXEY SHVED can help as a combo guard, though he might have trouble breaking into this rotation . . . MALCOLM LEE is a defensive stopper who won't be asked to shoot very often.

FORWARDS
Despite being limited athletically, KEVIN LOVE is an elite rebounder and shooter for a big. He'll continue to be the focal point of this offense once he returns from a broken hand in early December . . . ANDREI KIRILENKO returns to the States after a dominating Euroleague stint. He's a big upgrade at the three and should be comfortable in Adelman's system . . . DERRICK WILLIAMS will continue his attempted transition to the three. As last year proved, he's a long, long ways away. He might have to play himself into a rotation spot . . . DANTE CUNNINGHAM is a nice, efficient big to bring off the bench . . . Since they need shooting on the wings, rookie ROBBIE HUMMEL has a chance to crack the rotation.

CENTERS
NIKOLA PEKOVIC is a beast, the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. His total rebounding numbers get hurt playing alongside Kevin Love, but Pekovic will continue to bully his way to put-backs . . . GREG STIEMSMA is going to come in and do some pushing and shoving (and occasional shot-blocking) for 12-to-15 MPG.

StatFox Take: The Timberwolves will need a month or two to come together, especially with Kevin Lowe recovering from a broken hand and Ricky Rubio on the mend after a major knee injury. But if this new-look roster that added smart veteran players in Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger, defends better than they did last year, 50-to-1 odds to win a mediocre division with just one great team isn’t impossible to achieve.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

2011-12 SU record: 28-38 SU (42.4%), 20th in NBA
2011-12 ATS record: 32-34 ATS (48.5%), 19th in NBA
Odds to Win 2012-13 Northwest Division: 50-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 Western Conference: 60-to-1
Odds to Win 2012-13 NBA Championship: 100-to-1

GUARDS
Portland will turn point guard duties over to rookie DAMIAN LILLARD. The leap from Big Sky Conference to NBA will be a big one, but Lillard is an efficient scorer who can manage the offense . . . WESLEY MATTHEWS is more of a glue guy. He can't create his own offense, but he can heat up as a streaky catch-and-shoot guy . . . RONNIE PRICE should emerge as Lillard's top backup, a role he's filled at numerous stops . . . Second-rounder WILL BARTON could emerge as a rotation player. He's a versatile wing who must prove he can play off the ball . . . SASHA PAVLOVIC will play both the two and three, and can still stroke it from long distance . . . NOLAN SMITH, a misstep of the last regime, is a fringe roster player . . . ELLIOT WILLIAMS, a defensive-minded combo guard, tore his Achilles in mid-September and expects to miss the entire season.

FORWARDS
LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE had a couple of health scares over the past six months, but he should enter the season 100 percent. He's clearly Portland's best player . . . NICOLAS BATUM felt rightly disrespected by his secondary role in Portland. All signs point to a bigger role in 2012-13 . . . VICTOR CLAVER is an athletic scrapper who won't do much offensively even if he does get big minutes . . . JOEL FREELAND could become their first big man off the bench . . . JARED JEFFRIES is still relevant as a defensive specialist . . . The highlight of LUKE BABBITT's career might be that mention on Onion:Sportsdome.

CENTERS
J.J. HICKSON is a black hole on offense and a liability on defense, but he can score and rebound, which is good enough to be the starting center in Portland's weak frontcourt . . . MEYERS LEONARD might not be quite ready for 30-plus minutes, but he'll have to learn on the fly due to Portland's lack of veteran bigs. He has some long-term upside as a 7-footer with some nice athleticism and touch inside 10 feet.

StatFox Take: Besides LaMarcus Aldridge, the Trail Blazers haven’t got much else with arguably the worst backcourt in the NBA and an unaccomplished coach in Terry Stotts.

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