The Atlantic Files #193: 2021-22 Northwest Division Preview

As the off-season continues and we creep closer to training camp, the NBA news mill has slowed down. That means it's time for our other annual series, the divisional previews! This week, we look ahead to the 2021-22 season and we preview the Northwest Division. The Utah Jazz took the first seed in the division as well as first in the Western Conference, but it didn't mean much as they surrendered a second-round series to the Los Angeles Clippers. Their biggest question is whether or not this season is going to be much of the same. Donovan Mitchell is the guy that's keeping this team relevant and even giving them a chance at some sort of playoff run. Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, grabbed himself his first MVP award on the way to leading the Denver Nuggets to the playoffs again. The team was plagued by injuries to a lot of key contributors, but they were exciting to watch every step of the way. Now, with people returning and Jokic getting another season of development, they look primed to actually make a deeper playoff run this time around. Then, we have our biggest drama team in the Portland Trail Blazers. If they don't do well enough at the beginning of the season, we could see them having a big fire sale. Damian Lillard could be sent to a real contender and then Portland automatically becomes a lottery team. So, which side of the seesaw will they be on? Finally, we have the two rebuilders in the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Timberwolves have been entertaining Ben Simmons trade offers to see if they can finally make the playoffs again. On the other side of the coin, there's the Thunder who are just hoarding draft picks and not doing too much. Timestamps: 0:00 - intro 3:45 - Northwest Division Preview begins 5:15 - Denver Nuggets preview 22:45 - Utah Jazz preview 39:45 - Portland Trail Blazers preview 43:50 - Minnesota Timberwolves preview 57:05 - Oklahoma City Thunder preview