Greg Oden doesn't know when he'll be ready to play, Eddy Curry knows that he's injured, and Baron Davis is out of shape. That's right. It's time for NBA action to begin!

The offseason player movement has made this one of the most intriguing NBA seasons in years... in the Eastern Conference. The days of the West being best are officially over as the East has only gotten stronger at the top of the standings and their lesser teams have begun improving. Most of the teams on the West are on the decline it seems and there's really just one team that a legitimate title threat. This isn't to say that the also-rans don't have some talent but most of them seem to be a player away.

And then there's the Clippers

Anyway, let's break down the Western Conference.

THE CHAMPS
Los Angeles Lakers: Not much to say about this team. Kobe's finger seems like it's getting better, they haven't really lost any key pieces, added some solid enough role players (Steve Blake, Matt Barners) and two very intriguing rookies in Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter. It'll take an injury or two to knock these guys out of the top spot in the West.

ONE PIECE AWAY
Portland TrailBlazers: Kind of an odd offseason for the Blazers. They overpaid for Wes Matthews, dumped Martell Webster for Luke Babbitt, couldn't get rid of Rudy Fernandez, and didn't add a significant backup big man, which is a must since none of their bigs (Oden, Camby, Pryzbilla, and Aldridge) are iron men. Hell, two of them are already injured. I hope Nic Batum worked on his upper body strength this offseason because he might be stuck playing a lot of minutes at the stretch 4. The Blazers have the talent to be the #2 team in the West; whether they'll be healthy enough is a huge question mark. I still think they should look to move LaMarcus Aldridge for a true low post big man but apparently they are going to go with the hand that they dealt themselves. And that's a hand that just isn't good enough to beat what the Lakers are holding.

Oklahoma City Thunder: I think the Thunder will be out to prove that last season's playoff threat to the Lakers wasn't a fluke but I'm nervous that, after a summer of hoops and a maximum effort in the regular season, the Thunder might be lagging when it comes playoff time. Still, the talent is there with Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and friends. How high this team rises depends on the improvement of James Harden and Serge Ibaka as well as the impact (if any) Cole Aldrich can have. This team, like the Blazers, still seems to be lacking interior play but they are a talented group of young men and should be able to run past many of the aging squads in the West.

Dallas Mavericks: This team should be the #2 team in the West and have a shot at dethroning the Lakers but too many of their players don't get the most out of their ability. Actually, I should say most of them DIDN'T get the most out of their abilities because a lot of their guys are on the downslope of their careers. Still, a Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood/Tyson Chandler lineup is good enough to make a little noise in the West.

San Antonio Spurs: It was fun while it lasted. The Spurs have to come to the realization that they simply can't build a legit threat around Tim Duncan as long as they're afraid to venture deep into the luxury tax. If you want a Big Three, you have to be willing to pay the luxury tax in order to fill out the bench with enough talent to take you deep into the second season. It's hard to argue against Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili but I think the team would have been better off dealing them and going with the youngsters like George Hill and DaJuan Blair in bigger roles. And I have no idea whatsoever why they re-signed Richard Jefferson at all, nevermind for almost 10 million a year. This is still a good team but I doubt they'll ever be a great team again as long as they invest about half of their available funds on three shop-worn players.

MISH MASH MAYBES
Denver Nuggets: I'm a huge fan of Melo and I've wanted him to get away from the Nuggets for a while now so I'm happy that he might find himself out of the Mile High City. Denver's lineup is kind of a mess and I'm not a huge believer in George Karl as a championship coach. Chauncey Billups can't stay in front of the top point guards anymore and I'm not sure that playing for Team USA is going to make that any better. Luckily, they have Ty Lawson backing him up but the problem is still the inconsistent frontcourt and the even more inconsistent JR Smith as the #3 scoring option alongside Melo and Billups. I guess I'm supposed to be excited about Al Harrington joining the team but when you're selling Harrington as a difference maker, it's probably a good sign that you're not going to be much better. I'm not sure how Smith and Kenyon Martin (he of the expiring contract this year) are still Nuggets but the fact that they weren't moved for someone better is probably the main reason that Carmelo Anthony won't be a Nugget in the future.

Houston Rockets: Rick Adelman is one of the most overlooked coaches in the league but he has done a great job with the Rockets over the last few years and if Yao Ming can give them anything this year, they should be a lock for the playoffs. I'm not a huge fan of Kevin Martin and I think Courtney Lee regressed in his second season but they are still quality shooting guards. I like the Aaron Brooks/Kyle Lowry pg tandem and Jared Jeffiries and Shane Battier should be able to hold down the fort (and hold down opposing small forwards) enough. The frontcourt might miss Carl Landry but Luis Scola and rookie Patrick Patterson should add some punch in the post. This team could pull off some upsets in the playoffs but I'm not sure they'll be able to take down the Lakers.

Utah Jazz: T-minus 50 games until we start hearing Deron Williams out of Utah rumors. I root for Al Jefferson but the guy is lazy and I don't know who think that he and task master Jerry Sloan is a good fit. Jefferson will probably be a sixth man once Mehmet Okur gets healthy. I'm not expecting much of anything out of rookie Gordon Hayward and I think they'll miss Wes Matthews (although they won't regret not paying him the salary that Portland offered up.) Deron and Jerry Sloan should be able to get this team to the playoffs but if Deron misses any time, this could be a train wreck and the whispers of Deron option out after next season will gain volume.

New Orleans Hornets: If CP3 is out to re-establish himself as the premiere point guard in the NBA, the Hornets could leapfrog the Jazz and make the playoffs. Marcus Thornton is ready for a breakout season, David West is solid enough, and Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza can focus on defense and filling the lanes. If Jason Smith can stay healthy, he might actually get steal some minutes from Okafor because of his shooting ability and athleticism makes him a nice complement to CP3. Of course, if CP3 is unhappy and just wants out, the Hornets could find themselves stuck in mediocrity; good enough to win some games but not focused enough to make the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns: It's never smart to bet against Steve Nash but when you're betting against Steve Nash and Hakim Warrick & Hedo Turkoglu replacing Amar'e Stoudemire? Yeah, that's not such a bad wager. Hedo makes some sense talent-wise but he works best when running the offense so I'm not sure how he'll mesh with Nash. Josh Childress was an interesting pickup but this team needed a top notch talent, not an "interesting pickup". Alvin Gentry has his work cut out for him this year but, honestly, I'm not sure any coach would be able to muster much out of this group.

Memphis Grizzlies: Apparently, Memphis was so happy with their improvement last year that they decided not to improve at all this year. Most of their moves were head scratchers. They added Tony Allen and drafted Xavier Henry, both of whom play the same position as OJ Mayo, one of the team's best players. There's some talk of Mayo running the point but that seems like an experiment that is almost destined to fail. Also, I'm not sure if adding a knucklehead like Tony Allen is what this team needs. And while Rudy Gay is a great scorer, there's no need to pay him the money that the Grizz GM Chris Wallace gave him, especially when the owner is so cheap. You'd think that a GM who, when he took over, had to give away Pau Gasol because he made too much, would try not to repeat that mistake by giving Rudy Gay (who's not even as good as Gasol) too much money but this is Chris Wallace we're talking about.

REBUILDING
Sacramento Kings: I really like what the Kings are doing so far. Tyreke Evans is a beast, DeMarcus Cousins is a potential franchise big man, and he along with Carl Landry, Jason Thompson, Hassan Whiteside, and Sam Dalembert make up a nice big man rotation. Omri Casspi and Donte Greene should hold down the fort at the SF spot but I'm still not sold on Beno Udrih at the combo guard alongside Evans. There are chemistry concerns since people haven't had the nicest things to say about Evans, Cousins, Whiteside, and Dalembert in the past and Casspi was whining about his role at the end of last year but the talent is there and Dalembert's expiring deal could be combined with some of the youngsters for a nice mid-season deal to add a bigger talent. The Kings won't be making the playoffs but they might have the best future out of all of the rebuilding squads.

Minnesota Timberwolves: I'm actually looking forward to watching the Wolves this year since Kevin Love and Michael Beasley will finally get a chance to play legit roles in an offense but I'm not seeing this team really being all that good. Right now, it seems like a team of role players, including rookie Wesley Johnson who I think will be good but he won't be a star. It should be interesting to see how NIkola Pekovic pans out since many fans believe he will make Wolves fans forget Big Al Jefferson (which, honestly, isn't THAT tall of an order). Defense also could be a problem. I like a lot of the guys on this team but I'm not sure that they really make-up a legitimate NBA squad.

Golden State Warriors: Stephon Curry should be a fantasy basketball monster. And I think most Warriors fans should take up fantasy basketball so they can try to experience some winning this season. The Warriors overpaid David Lee and gave up some nice talent for him and I'm just not sure how much better he makes the team. They wasted a lotto pick on Ekpe Udoh and after having way too many high priced small forwards, they now have no legit small forwards to speak of. Who knows what Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright will bring to the table besides their medical bills? This is a year for the new ownership to get themselves set and to evaluate their talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see Biedrins, Ellis, and possibly others gone by the mid-season trade deadline. Stephon Curry and, by default, David Lee are the future of this franchise. It's time to find out who complements them the best and to try to find pieces that would fit alongside them.

Los Angeles Clippers: Eric Gordon made a name for himself in the FIBA tournament but that's easier to do when you're running with guys like Billups, Durant, Derrick Rose, etc. When you have a gassed Baron Davis, hobbling Blake Griffin, and castoffs from the Timberwolves on your squad, it's a bit harder to find those open looks. I'm intrigued by the later picks Willie Warren and Eric Bledsoe and everyone's eager to see Blake Griffin's debut but there is little else that I like on this roster. Baron, Foye, Gomes is a backcourt that would have to overachieve to be mediocre. I hope that these guys open the season terribly and then just throw big minutes at Bledsoe, Warren, DeAndre Jordan, Al-Farouq Aminu and the other youngsters. But who knows... maybe Blake and Eric will be superstar, and instead of stealing money like Clay Davis, Baron will play like the old Baron Davis. Maybe. But the safe money is one them just being the Clippers.