CHICAGO, IL: Regular season is set to end in a bit more than one month. Team have already played an average of 75% of their games, with around 18-23 games to be played by each franchise. Those last games will determine what happens at some of the most interesting playoff battles we've had in CSL for ages!
So, let's focus on each Western's Conference battle today, name teams who are comfortable in their positions or out of playoff contention and, of course, give our (completely wrong) predictions on who's going to emerge at the top of every postseason run!
GONE FISHIN'
[*] Oklahoma City Thunder (11-49)
[*] Dallas Mavericks (15-47)
[*] Denver Nuggets (18-43)[/b]
While no team is mathematically out of post season contention (highlighted by OKC's possibility of getting to 33 wins which would gibe them West's 5th spot should no other team wins games), that ain't gonna happen, and each team listed there knows the reasons why.
The Thunder are on experiment mode trying to give their youth playing time. Dallas already cut two possible contributors in Sefolosha and Reddick aiming for more CAP space this FA. Denver are a current mess and new GM Myles will need some time and an offseason to fix them.
Add to that the fact that they haven't showed enough talent to consistently win games and you have the confirmation that those teams are already thinking about the draft.
CONFORTABLE SPOTS
[*] Houston Rockets (48-12)[*] Utah Jazz (31-30)[/b]
The Rockets reign supreme at the top of Western's Conference and are in cruise-control mode for the rest of the season.
Utah's season was sinking until Ocons found a fantastic deal that brought them LaMarcus Aldridge. Now, they are back to winning behind their new Big-3 and are at a very comfortable situation: 8 GB Timberwolves for the division's lead, 5 GB behind the Pels' for 5th spot and holding a 4 game lead over current 7th place Spurs (losers of the last 6). They'll win enough games to secure the 6th spot without problems but won't make it past New Orleans or Minny for better seeding.
[center]#2-5 BATTLE[/center]
[*] Sacramento Kings (39-22)
[*] Minnesota Timberwolves (39-22)
[*] Phoenix Suns (38-23)
[*] New Orleans Pelicans (35-24)[/b]
Back at the end of December it was a no contest with the Kings performing at high level, Minnesota and Utah fighting for Northwest's crown and the Suns and Pelicans trying to change their rosters to become more competitive.
Right now, everything changed. New Orleans reshaped their team by keeping only 5 players, the Suns brought in league's best defender Okaro White, shot blocker Biyombo and CJ McCollum, Sacramento dealt Chandler Parsons for youth while losing Richard Solomon to injury and the Wolves all of a sudden came into their own after trading for veteran scorer Brook Lopez.
Now all of those teams are in striking distance for #2 given how much talent they have on their rosters. Sac-town are at probably their worst stretch in a few seasons, opening space for the Wolves and the finally-healthy Suns to become a real threat (Phoenix are only 1GB Sacramento, who's tied with the Minnesota). Sun Scorched's squad is currently suffering with minor and major injuries, highlighted by Aaron Afflalo going down for one year and Davis being out for one more week. But when they are fully healthy, they are going to make sure to remember the other 3 teams that they'll be just waiting for the opportunity to jump on them if given it, even though they are currently 3GB Pacific's and Northwest's leaders. Bt's team is also suffering from minor injuries to multiple key players which won't certainly help the end of their season.
[center]#7-8 BATTLE[/center][/color]
[*] San Antonio Spurs (27-34)
[*] Memphis Grizzlies (25-35)
[*] Golden State Warriors (25-37)
[*] Los Angeles Clippers (25-37)
[*] Portland TrailBlazers (24-36)
[*] Los Angeles Lakers (23-38)[/b]
First of all, it's a shame that 2 teams in the West (possibly 3 with the Jazz) are going to make the playoffs with a negative record while there are 10 (exactly, 10) teams at .500% or more.
Coming back to our article's topic, this will be one of the ugliest battles ever. 6 teams fighting for 2 spots, the "least worst (lol)" of them all at an "impressive" 27 wins in 61 games, thanks to their former star (now playing for one of the other 5 teams). That has 'CRAZY' written all over it.
The Spurs have a narrow lead over the Grizzlies for the 8th spot, and Memphis has an even narrower lead on the rest for a playoff spot. San Antonio seemed to do pretty well following trading KD to the Blazers, grabbing wins here and there when possible. But now, losing 6 straight, they are starting to lose control of what was kind of a "comfortable" situation. Memphis, pointed as a fully rebuilding squad after dealing their major stars, found ways to win behind impressive defense until mid-February. Since then, they dropped 8 of the last 9 and are one of the coldest teams in the league.
Following them closely are the Warriors who have been enjoying a season of ups and downs. They are the definition of a consistently in consistent squad. But they've managed to do pretty good at their last games against a beardless Houston and direct opponent Memphis. The added depth in the form of veterans Wade and Matthews was fantastic, but for them it will all be decided at their 6-game road trip at the end of the month, 5 of them against playoff competition.
The Clippers pulled out a BI after trade restrictions: in other words, they traded their WHOLE roster, building a much deeper, perimeter oriented squad. The result was an impressive 8-game win streak which put them back into the playoff fight but now they are back to the inconsistent team they used to be, dropping close games at will. They are, though, a team on the rise, who could be in for a big run at the end of the season, specially since they play more home games than road ones (11 to 9).
Portland would be the safest bet to make the postseason given their talent level and offensive performances right now. However they are incredibly dependent on KD (like most of his teams would be), and while that should be fantastic, it also brings a bit of worry. After all, guess who leads the league in minutes per game? You guessed it correct! Almost at 42 minutes a game, it has to be seen if KD's body will handle all the wear and tear left in their 22 games. They've already shown how good they are with Durant and how bad their offense becomes if Kevin suffers any kind of injury, even a minor one. This will be a very very interesting end of the year for the Blazers as their success does not depend solely on their level of play but how many minutes can Durant play without going down (like what happened to Paul George).
The Lakers have the worst possibly situations but they are listed here for two factors. First of all, they traded for a bunch of talent such as Chandler Parsons (former Kings' leading scorer), Victor Oladipo (bringing the perimeter defense needed), Shabazz Napier and Julius Randle. That core, along with Giannis' impressive play and a better bench (though they lack a real C) could provide them more wins than projected initially. But the intriguing part is the second reason: they are 12-19 at road and only 11-19 at the Staples Center! Their road record is by far the best among all those teams listed here, and that will surely be key to any playoff runs here. So that means if Jestor can find a way of keep the roadie wins while defending their home court effectively, they'll be in to one of the biggest surprises in recent memory.
[center]FINAL PREDICTIONS![/center][/color]
1. Houston
2. Phoenix
3. Minnesota
4. New Orleans
5. Sacramento
6. Utah
7. LA Clippers
8. Portland
The top 6 is set and the order there is quite hard to predict. But at the end of the day, I guess Doug pushes his plays a little bit more and he gets the 2nd spot and the possibility of avoiding facing Michael Harden until WC Finals (should both get there). Minny is doing fantastic and this should continue with even more defense in form of G-Wall now, which will nail them the 3rd spot and a fantastic matchup with the Jazz. New Orleans will be pushed hard by SS once Davis is good to go so they can get HC and they won't get past PHX or MIN, but will jump past the Kings who will continue to rest their starters for a playoff run. As long as they can play defense at the same level of last season's playoffs, HC will hardly matter.
At #7 and 8 it was almost impossible to select who's making the playoffs. But given their current momentum together with current #7 and #8 teams fading and dropping important games, I went with the two most talented teams. At the end of the day, KD's body will hold itself enough that he can finish the season strong (even though I believe he'll get hurt with a minor injury once again) and they'll win more games than anyone when KD is healthy. The Clippers are deeper than any other team and at the end of the year when injuries start to pile up, this will make all the difference.
What about you guys, how do you think this is going to end?
Hopefully someone does the same for the East, I hate talking about my conference haha
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
