The West's Three Tiers

[Jestor]

Lines Clearly Defined

Tier 1: The Playoff Locks
1. Sacramento Kings: 25-10
2. Houston Rockets: 24-11
3. Dallas Mavericks: 23-12
4. Portland Trailblazers: 22-12
5. Denver Nuggets: 22-14
6. Minnesota Timberwolves: 20-14

This is a densely packed race, with arguably any of the top five teams capable of making a run that could push them into the #1 seed. The Pacific, as always, has the motto "In BT We Trust". When was the last time anyone other than Sacramento won that division? Stop trading your 1sts to him, people! Sactown probably wins the top seed, though - the division is... well.. we'll see, and being able to eat a lot of cupcakes puts you in good shape in the world of the CSL.

The Southwest is an epic battle between Houston and Dallas. Obviously we have to give the edge to the Rockets here because league-run gonna league-run, and that team begins and ends with Zion Willamson. Should he ever get hurt, they're so cooked, there's no saving them. There's just absolutely no offense outside the Big Z in the Big D.

The Northwest will again be a three-way dogfight between Portland, Denver, and Minnesota. The Timberwolves' slow start after they adjusted to life post-Anfernee Simons and the championship hangover may ultimately doom them to just barely hanging on to the top 6 slot to duck the play-in tournament... or they could careen down to the land of diciness.

Tier 2: The Play-In Teams
7. San Antonio Spurs: 19-15
8. Golden State Warriors: 19-17
9. New Orleans Pelicans: 17-16
10. Memphis Grizzlies: 18-17

Of these teams, only the Spurs look to have a reasonable chance at breaking into the Top 6 currently. Memphis has underachieved all season long after many picked them as the West's top seed. Probably too much ground to make up to get out of the tournament. Golden State is on a five-game win streak as Ashton Hagans appears to be exactly what their team needed, despite many criticizing the Ky Bowman trade. Will that hot run continue, or will it peter out as the Warriors continue to pursue a rebuilding path?

And yes, you read that correctly. All five Southwest teams are over .500. New Orleans should be improved with the acquisition of Moses Moody, but the 9 seed will probably the highest spot for the Pelicans, as they have a brutal end-season stretch that will likely kick them back down to 10th if they're not already there. No need to worry, Pels fans. They're a play-in lock because...

Tier 3: Looking Forward To The Draft
11. Utah Jazz: 11-23
12. Los Angeles Lakers: 11-25
13. Oklahoma City Thunder: 10-24
14. Los Angeles Clippers: 7-28
15. Phoenix Suns: 7-28

It's a long, long, long way down from 10th to 11th. The Jazz just traded away their lone 3 point threat in Moses Moody. The Thunder just traded away their star scoring efficiency god in R.J. Barrett, though Bilal Coulibaly is a good young replacement. Look for the Lakers to rise to 11 and stare across the chasm at the wide gulf that separates them from the Pelicans while everyone else races to the bottom.

The East is far, far more messy. So we'll just take a moment to sit back and enjoy this nice slice of neatly layered and cut Western cake as we draw closer to the mid-point of the season.

[Stockton12]

Amazing all 5 teams in southwest over .500 . We still have some talent left so we might be 12 th

[rh0xxy]

Tier 3 looked set. The other tiers are still wide open i think, anything can happen!

[Flaming Homer]

That is one tough conference to be in.

Brett was pretty busy lately and could give the Nugs a boost, when he returns. And if the Mavs would find a GM, they could unlock a new level as well. But they are depending on Zion indeed way too much.
Houston, Portland and the reigning champs are all capable to go on long win streaks themself.

Really scary are the Kings though. If Koofi and Dyson are fully developed, that team will be hell on wheels.

[Marcos_Beck]

I do think some teams from the 2nd tier can challenge the big dogs for a playoff spot
It’s gonna be interesting
I’d love to see some deadline deals also to separate teams from the pack
Everyone seems talented right now and anything can happen so a massive trade can be the differential move that gives someone the crown in an open Western Conference once again

[bt]

We were always a couple of games back last season of the top 5 and just couldn't catch them but all we're doing now is mixing it with them to make it a 6. We've had a reasonably easier run lately though so that has helped us mix it with the better teams.

You never know with the play-in teams, especially the Spurs and Warriors. Spurs could get it together and I had to include the Warriors as they've just won their 7th straight game. Grizzlies have been really disappointing for their talent level but uber-impressed with the Pelicans. You've done a great job so far Tim and I didn't expect that this season.

[cb4raptorscb4]

There's definitely some clear tiers here. Just looking at the standings now it looks like the top 10 teams are basically clinched to at least play-in already