Heading into the season, the NBA’s Western Conference was pegged to be the deepest it’s ever been, which is high praise. And because of it, the expectations for the Los Angeles Lakers varying all over the place.
The consistent belief, however, was that LeBron James is going to face an animal like no other in the Western Conference gauntlet. Almost every night, he was going to face a playoff-caliber team with an excellent player or two. Nothing like he ever faced in the east, which is the biggest knock on his eight-year NBA Finals streak.
However, after 11 games, you can argue that the conference has been overhyped and is not quite matching what expectations were. Instead, it’s become very wide open, with the number two seed virtually up for grabs.
Everyone knows that the Golden State Warriors are going to be the top seed this year. They are the best team in the NBA, and no one in the West comes close to them, especially with the step back the Houston Rockets have taken.
But even the high and mighty Warriors have some problems to deal with. Draymond Green is sidelined with an injury while team MVP Stephen Curry had an MRI with a groin problem, although the results appear ‘encouraging,’ according to Steve Kerr.
But injuries are a funny and mysterious thing which can be unpredictable. Also, Steph Curry has a history with injuries, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s sidelined linger-than-expected or has a lingering effect. Not to say that they still won’t be the favorites. Just a symbol of how everyone has become vulnerable.
Last year’s biggest threat to the Warriors, the Houston Rockets, look terrible. They took a step back in the offseason by losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute and replacing them with Carmelo Anthony.
The veteran doesn’t fit on offense while being an extreme liability on defense. In result, the team’s stats have taken massive hits (26th in offensive rating and 21st in defense).
In addition, they are an older team with players that have injury histories or have missed time already this season. They are coming off the worst offensive display of any team this season against the Russell Westbrook-less Oklahoma City Thunder and find themselves at 4-6.
Speaking of Westbrook, the Thunder have their own injury problems. Westbrook has missed four of the team’s 11 games, including the first couple of games. But, even when he returned, OKC started 0-4 before rattling off a winning streak. Then he hurt his ankle this past Monday and is out indefinitely.
So their best player is hurt again and showing signs of physical decline. Who knows just how long they can go without their best player? But even with him, the team’s potential was already capped with a roster of overpaid veterans.
The Portland Trailblazers are the same team they have been the past four or five years, so there’s no reason to expect anything to change.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a complete mess right now, with no signs of things improving as long as Jimmy Butler is there. But without Butler, the Wolves were a lottery team.
The Pelicans have not started how they envisioned and are primarily a one-man team with an overpaid supporting cast that showed already their potential season. And it isn’t ‘second-best in the West’ good.
The Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, and Sacramento Kings all occupy a playoff spot. But, they were among the three worst teams in the NBA, so can we realistically expect them to make the playoffs, let alone contend for being the best behind the Warriors.
The Utah Jazz were a team that surprised everyone last season. Are they ready to take that next step considering their slow start and how young they are? The Denver Nuggets have been the biggest surprise in the West, holding down the second spot this season. But, can we trust such a young team to take such a massive leap forward?
One of the teams will end up having to claim the second seed, so why not the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s not to say that Los Angeles is the worthy one. They probably aren’t because of their many flaws.
It just shows the power of LeBron James and how close all the teams in the conference are with each other because of their flaws. There is a big gap between the Warriors and everyone else in the West. It’s anyone’s guess who rise among the next group.
