{"id":45867,"date":"2022-02-16T15:42:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T20:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=45867"},"modified":"2022-02-16T15:42:57","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T20:42:57","slug":"the-great-nba-western-conference-play-in-mess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2022\/02\/16\/the-great-nba-western-conference-play-in-mess\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great NBA Western Conference Play-In Mess"},"content":{"rendered":"

The top of the NBA Western Conference is looking fantastic. It features three 40 win teams in the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies. All three are looking like legitimate contenders. Right below those three teams includes the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Denver Nuggets. Although Utah, Dallas, and Denver haven’t eclipsed 40 wins, these teams are star-studded with names such as\u00a0Donovan Mitchell<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Rudy Gobert<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Luka Doncic<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Nikola Jokic<\/a><\/strong>. It’s safe to say all six of these teams are essential playoff locks.<\/p>\n

It gets muddy below that. The play-in tournament will feature four teams, seeded from 7th to 10th. It’s an all-out race for those last spots.<\/p>\n

The Great NBA Western Conference Play-In Mess<\/h2>\n

The Current Top Spots<\/h3>\n

The seventh seed belongs to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota can certainly avoid the play-in tournament, as they’re closer in records to the Nuggets than they are to the Los Angeles Clippers in 8th. The Timberwolves have eclipsed 30 wins and are finally looking legitimate again. Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is an All-Star.\u00a0Anthony Edwards<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a rising star and a fantastic complimentary player, along with D’Angelo Russell<\/a><\/strong>. Minnesota has plenty of solid role players as well. These aren’t the lowly Timberwolves anymore as any opponent come playoff time will take Minnesota very seriously.<\/p>\n

Injuries are affecting the Clippers at the 8th seed. The injuries to\u00a0Kawhi Leonard<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Paul George<\/a><\/strong> are well known, but now new addition\u00a0Norman Powell<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is sidelined.\u00a0Reggie Jackson<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Marcus Morris<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Luke Kennard<\/a><\/strong>, and others will be tasked with keeping LA afloat. With this being said, a slide could very well be expected.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Lakers – an NBA Western Conference Mystery<\/h3>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers are reeling. Their fall from glory is happening rapidly. This, of course, is quite surprising considering the talent on the team.\u00a0LeBron James<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>remains elite, whereas\u00a0Anthony Davis<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is still a star. Davis isn’t playing well, but the league knows what he’s capable of.<\/p>\n

Then, of course, there’s the\u00a0Russell Westbrook<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>predicament. The Lakers didn’t deal him, unsurprisingly due to his contract, but his fit is clearly not working. The team’s role players, outside of\u00a0Malik Monk<\/a><\/strong>, are also not living up to expectations.<\/p>\n

It’s odd to see any team James is on struggling like this. The team is still in a solid position to make the play-in, but at this rate, is far from assured that the Lakers will be competitive. With that being said, the talent, at least on paper, is still very tantalizing. To put it bluntly, the Lakers are not a good basketball team at the moment. They’re still, however, going to be an interesting match-up due to the players they have.<\/p>\n

The Rest of the Pack<\/h3>\n

The four remaining teams in the pack (although the bottom two aren’t actually out) are the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, and Sacramento Kings. They’re tightly jammed together, presenting an opportunity for a wild finish.<\/p>\n

Portland gutted their team at the trade deadline to prepare for the offseason.\u00a0Damian Lillard<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is also out, although he should return this season. This leaves Portland with\u00a0Anfernee Simons<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jusuf Nurkic<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Josh Hart<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as those most likely to carry the load.<\/p>\n

New Orleans stacked up in their\u00a0C.J. McCollum<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>trade<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>He pairs up with\u00a0Brandon Ingram<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jonas Valanciunas<\/a><\/strong>. New Orleans can end up being very dangerous should\u00a0Zion Williamson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>play this season.<\/p>\n

Then there’s the Spurs.\u00a0Dejounte Murray<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a rising star and there are plenty of solid role players on this team. Although they traded Derrick White<\/a><\/strong>, it’s difficult to count head coach Gregg Popovich out.<\/p>\n

Lastly, there are the Kings. Sacramento was quite the busy team this trade deadline.\u00a0Domantas Sabonis<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>may very well be the piece Sacramento needed to end their long playoff drought.<\/p>\n

Expect a crazy finish.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Embed from Getty Images<\/a>