The standings in the Western Conference are yet again highly competitive. Houston and Golden State are obvious locks for the top 2 but outside of them almost anything can happen. As it stands right now: 3. Portland 4. OKC 5. Minny 6. Pelicans 7. Jazz 8. Spurs 9. Clippers 10. Nuggets All of these teams have the potentially to drastically change between these positions. Portland is looking really good right now but even they, with only a handful of sudden losses in a row, can suddenly be scrapping with the Clippers for a spot. There's also a bunch of games between these teams before the end of the season. Who do you guys have making it through?
We need to move to the playoff format to 1-16 records regardless of conference. Problem solved. Plus, Rockets play the Warriors in the NBA Finals. http://www.espn.com/nba/standings/_/group/league
Yeah, but if one conference sucks then those teams would have inflated wins since they play those teams twice as much.
That's true. As is, however, whoever comes out of the stronger conference will just sweep the winner of the weaker conference. Finals would be boring. The real championship battle will just happen in the conference finals.
I would also be so amused if OKC drops out. They were hailed as a top 2-3 seed and the best chance to beat GSW from August to December on every ESPN outlet. And let's not forget their fake MVP.
The problem is for OKC to fall out of the playoffs, other teams must hold up their end of the bargain. Three of these four teams must finish in front of OKC: Spurs, Jazz, Clippers, Nuggets. Even when you consider OKC's killer closing schedule, it is unlikely they will finish behind 3 of these teams. Spurs have a good chance of missing out if Kawhi does not return but I can see them sneaking in. Jazz have won 20/22, which is INSANE for such an offensively-challenged team. I can't understand how they've done it. Of course, I'm not curious enough to actually watch and find out. IMO, they will eventually falter. No way they can keep this up. It would be great for Donovan Mitchell to experience a playoff series if they can pull it off. Clippers are also doing better than expected (for now) but they should tail off very soon. Lou Williams is the ultimate soft butterfly. The Bulls and Rockets games were the start of 9/11 on the road. They will be roadkill after next weekend. Nuggets are one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA to me. With their talent, they should be pushing for home court in the 1st round. Something is clearly wrong. I expected them to go to another level after Milsap returned. They have 7 straight road games to finish March. Sayonara Rocky!
My prediction not knowing any tiebreakers 1-Houston 2-Gsw 3-Portland 4-Minnesota 5-Nop 6-Utah 7-Okc 8-Lac 9-Sas 10-Denver
Portland is probably safe. They are leading the pack and have the talent to sustain the lead. The other seven teams, OKC, Minny, NO, Utah, SA, and Denver, are fighting for 5 spots. They are within 2.5 games of each other.
