After neglecting my blog for months, and following everything in the wide world of sports, the NBA season has me back into the writing mood. Things have been heating up in the West, and are at a boiling point. A number of things possible in the conference, including some potential upsets around some of the biggest and star studded teams. There are eleven teams with real playoff potential and aspirations. No one is going to catch the Lakers, at least not until the conference finals, but the rest of the conference will be jockeying for position the rest of the year. Dallas and Denver are tied at number two behind the Lakers at five and a half games back. Denver has been in the number two spot basically the whole year, but Dallas has won eight straight and look to be at full strength, and with the acquisition of Caron Butler become the favorite for the number two spot in the West as I see it. Denver is a good squad, and have depth off the bench to support their seemingly flawless starting unit. That still to me will not be enough to hold off the surging Mavs, who are a deep team as well. Jason Terry going back to his bench role when Caron came to town, where he won the sixth man of the year award last year and seems to be where he is most comfortable. Also, Jason Kidd feeling his revival still in Dallas, got his first triple double of the season a couple of nights ago, and looks poised to send his team deep into the playoffs.
The lower end of the conference is a lot more congested than the top, where any number of things are possible. Utah, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Portland are all within four games of one another, and have been trading places in the conference all season. Houston and New Orleans are both four games out of the playoffs, but I don't see either of them doing anything to garner any tread in the conference and overtaking anyone who is already in. Thus, we seem set in the West, but who will be playing who come playoff time? All these teams are potential number four teams in the West, but I see them staying relatively in the same positions they are now, which is the way I listed them above, with one exception, and that would be Portland switching places with San Antonio. They are coming off a road trip where they went 4 and 5, and have a relatively easy remaining schedule, and are finding a new way to play with newly added Marcus Camby.
So it would be:
1. L.A.
2. Dallas
3. Denver
4. Utah
5. Phoenix
6. Oklahoma City
7. Portland
8. San Antonio
