We’re officially halfway through the NBA season, and the Western Conference is shaping up to be absolutely electric. The top seven teams are very close, with the No. 7 seeded Mavericks only seven games behind the top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
Every team has a glaring flaw that could be their downfall come playoff time. The conference is shaped up like this. First is the Timberwolves at 39-16. The second is the Thunder at 37-17. Third is the Clippers at 36-17. Fourth is the Nuggets at 36-19. The Suns are in fifth at 33-22. The Pelicans are in sixth with a tied record of 33-22. The Mavericks are on the bubble 32-23.
The Timberwolves are an absolutely electric team this year. They play hard defense, which is a rarity in today’s NBA. Leading scorer Anthony Edwards has been playing out of his mind, paired with Karl Anthony-Towns, who recently just dropped 62 against the Hornets, even though they lost. The glaring hole on this team is former 3x Defensive Player of Year Rudy Gobert. His lack of offensive production is scary, and he’s a blackhole when it comes to points. As in, he doesn’t score. His stats may look good on paper, but his lack of offensive efficiency is scary.
The Thunder are a rock solid team. Personally, they are my pick to win it all this year. They are a young, dominant team, but this may be their downfall. They are way too young, and have little to no playoff experience. I see no major flaws, besides their youth, and we’ll see come playoff time how they fair. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a strong MVP case, and their bench is one of the best in the league. The Thunder is a scary team this year.
The Clippers have been on an absolute tear after a rocky start. After acquiring James Harden, the team won near 30 games in a row. But James Harden is the glaring flaw for this team. His inconsistency is alarming, and it dictates their play against actual contenders. The team itself shows if it’s in a shooting slump, it won’t be able to dig itself out of the whole. This all leads back to the point guard in Harden. His play will dictate how far the Clippers go.
The Nuggets are the defending champions, and they are looking to repeat. Jokic is looking for his third MVP, and the Nuggets are rolling. Recently, they have been in a slump, but I’m sure after the break they’ll figure it out. The only major concern for this team is the offensive production off the bench. The numbers are almost comical comparing the starters versus the bench. Although we have solid role players, there is no true scorer off the bench to lead us in a deep playoff run, which may come to be our downfall.
The Suns were the second most favored team besides the Celtics preseason after trading for super star Bradley Beal. The Big 3 of Durant, Booker, and Beal, has proven to be hard to get all 3 on the court at the same time. But when all three are on the court together, the trio is electric. However, their defense is so inconsistent its hard to watch. They either play like the 8th rated defense like they are, or they play like my middle school basketball team. Come playoff time it’ll be important to see which Sun’s team shows up.
The Pelicans and Mavericks have the same issue: their switch defense. The offenses of today are too fast and fluid for the teams who can’t guard mismatches crumble. The Mavericks finally traded for a true center before the trade deadline in Daniel Gafford, but there’s not enough games played together to see how it’ll affect this team. But the future bodes well for them. Don’t be surprised if the Mavs make a deep run.
