{"id":31752,"date":"2020-07-03T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=31752"},"modified":"2020-06-29T10:19:14","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T14:19:14","slug":"nba-suspension-pacific-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/07\/03\/nba-suspension-pacific-division\/","title":{"rendered":"How the NBA Suspension Has Affected the Pacific Division"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The suspension of the NBA has impacted every team across the entire league. Only 22 teams will resume the season under some of the strangest circumstances in league history. Today, we take a look at the teams in the Pacific Division.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Analyzing the Northwest Division Post-NBA Suspension<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Los Angeles Lakers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Although it will be hard for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> to catch the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/milwaukee-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> for the top seed now, home-court advantage has basically been nullified with every team playing in the same location. The time off will have definitely helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>LeBron James<\/strong><\/a> get some rest and prepare for another long playoff run. However, Los Angeles will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/29355391\/lakers-avery-bradley-opts-nba-restart-cites-family-concerns\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">without<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bradlav01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Avery Bradley<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/lakers\/news\/danny-green-on-dwight-howard-i-think-hell-be-with-us\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">possibly<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/howardw01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Dwight Howard <\/strong><\/a>as well, so the team will need to explore ways of filling those holes.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-clippers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> have struggled with injuries all year long, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kawhi Leonard<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Paul George<\/strong><\/a> were both banged up for portions of the season. The team will no doubt be expecting their stars to be completely healthy as they try and help deliver the organization\u2019s first championship. On the other hand, LA was also playing some of their best basketball going into the break. The team will be hoping that the layoff hasn\u2019t cooled them off.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Sacramento Kings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Like many teams, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/sacramento-kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sacramento Kings<\/a> were dealing with injuries to important players before the pause. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/baglema01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Marvin Bagley III&#8217;s <\/strong><\/a>availability is still <a href=\"https:\/\/dknation.draftkings.com\/2020\/6\/26\/21299187\/marvin-bagley-injury-update-news-status-nba-season-start-kings-playoffs-deaaron-fox\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">up in the air<\/a> due to a foot injury he suffered earlier in the season. Fortunately, the time off has given <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/strong><\/a> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holmeri01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richaun Holmes<\/a><\/strong> opportunities to feel rested after both were out for lengthy periods. If all three of these players can arrive in Orlando fully healthy, the Kings could have a chance to surprise some teams.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Phoenix Suns<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The pause couldn\u2019t come at a better time for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/phoenix-suns\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phoenix Suns<\/a>. After a strong start to the season, the Suns limped into the break with a 6-11 record since February. It\u2019ll be tough for Monty Williams\u2019 team to sneak into the postseason, as Phoenix hasn\u2019t made the playoffs since 2010. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Devin Booker<\/strong><\/a> will need to go on a hot streak for them to have any chance of extending their season.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"W0t1kFl5RCN2MrsVVIyWEg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1180597487\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'W0t1kFl5RCN2MrsVVIyWEg',sig:'8QaPcF7lUQV3xlyI51UMwc665shs1zMibsTtQDKfapQ=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1180597487',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The suspension of the NBA has impacted every team across the entire league. Only 22 teams will resume the season under some of the strangest circumstances in league history. Today, we take a look at the teams in the Pacific Division. Analyzing the Northwest Division Post-NBA Suspension Los Angeles Lakers Although it will be hard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3453,"featured_media":31800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,27,26,62,28,29],"tags":[240,664,352,168,38,189,152,50,280,304],"class_list":["post-31752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-clippers","category-lakers","category-nba","category-suns","category-kings","tag-anthony-davis","tag-deaaron-fox","tag-devin-booker","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-lebron-james","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-paul-george","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-sacramento-kings"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}