Unpredictable Western Conference
There’s a reason why the NBA Western Conference is called the “Wild, Wild West”. While the Eastern Conference has had its fair share of tight races in the past, one cannot deny the fact that the competition in the West almost always comes down to the wire. In recent years, the West has grown even more unpredictable after a series of dominant runs by the Golden State Warriors.
No Clear Favourite
Last season, the Phoenix Suns finished with the best record in the NBA at 64-18. However, that finish went for naught as the Suns bowed out to the Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks in the West semifinals.
In the other semifinal match-up, the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies lost to the eventual 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors, who finished the regular season as the 3rd seed in the West.
In other words, a team’s standing doesn’t matter as much as it used to in the playoffs.
Halfway through the 2022-2023 season, the Suns aren’t even in the title contender conversation. The Warriors look nothing like the well oiled machine fans have grown accustomed to watching from a Steve Kerr led team. The Grizzlies are poised for another top-two finish and the Denver Nuggets currently top the West standings with a 31-13 record.
There was even a point in the first half of the season when the Utah Jazz owned the best record in the West. Now? The Jazz sit in tenth place.
What makes this season’s race in the West so unpredictable is there’s one team in the playoff picture that hasn’t been relevant in a long, long time: the Sacramento Kings. And if the playoffs were to start today, the Kings would enter as the fourth seed.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trailblazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are trying their best to hang on with the Suns in the race for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
How close are the standings in reality?
The Lakers (13th in the West) are just two games back of the Los Angeles Clippers who sit at number seven. Extrapolating that further, the Lakers, once the butt of many an NBA joke in the early season, are only 6 games back of the third place Pelicans. Meanwhile only half a game separates the Nuggets and the Grizzlies atop the West in what’s shaping up to be a season long back and forth between the West’s top two clubs.
Who Takes the West this Season?
Right now, the New Orleans Pelicans are five games behind the top two. If Zion Williamson remains healthy until the end, they have as good a shot as any at taking down either the Grizzlies or the Nuggets in the postseason. The Warriors may still be the favourites to repeat as champions in the West (+350) this year but they’re still trying to find consistency following Curry’s injury, and the infamous Green/Poole dust up in training camp.
Down the standings, the Lakers can still catch the last ride for the play-in tournament if they play their cards right, especially with the possibility of Anthony Davis returning before the All-Star break. It’s going to be a long climb in the Western Conference but LA features one of the most veteran heavy lineups in the league, so they’re well prepared for the task at hand.
In Denver, if Nikola Jokic continues his play as an All-World calibre point center trying to earn a third straight MVP award, the Nuggets could be poised for a deep postseason run. Jokic is averaging 24.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 52% field goal shooting. And unlike in the previous seasons, the Joker isn’t alone. Jamal Murray is healthy and so is Michael Porter Jr., while Aaron Gordon is having one of his best statistical seasons on both ends of the court.
And all of that is without mentioning the Grizzlies who are currently riding a 10 game winning streak and have only dropped 3 contests at home all season long. Morant and company are still a young team who lack experience, but you’d never know it by the way they carry themselves on and off the court.
Whether it’s warranted or not, Memphis view themselves as the “bullies” of the West, and are hoping to translate their Grit n’ Grind mentality into championships in the near future.
With half a season left to play, most of the Western Conference seeding will ultimately be determined by health. But with the NBA trade deadline drawing nearer by the day, some franchises are going to need to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves whether they’ll be buyers or sellers on February 9th.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.