The Western Conference, man. If you think things will be close in the East … well, it should only be more intense here. No less than five teams could emerge as the No. 1 seed going into the NBA playoffs, and with any one of the five, you would not be surprised. The Thunder landed the top seed last year. Here’s how we see it shaking out in this one:
The Thunder finished with the best record in the West last season and only got better. At least, that’s the way it feels on paper. For starters, league MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and the rest now have some invaluable playoff experience. They even won a series.
Then, they acquired Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein in the offseason — and both serve as excellent fill-in-the-gap players who play hard and do a little of everything. It should be another banner year, with the only question being if the Thunder can escape this incredibly talented conference and reach the Finals.
We’re not ready to write them off just yet. The Nuggets still have arguably the NBA’s best player in Nikola Jokic and a borderline All-Star in Jamal Murray. They also boast starters Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon who have been there before. You’d better believe this group is more determined than ever after last year’s Game 7 playoff flameout against Minnesota.
Yes, losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (to Orlando) will hurt in many ways. But it’s no big deal if Christian Braun is ready to step into that role — or at least close to it. The Nuggets added Russell Westbrook for nothing, theoretically to give a spark and some leadership off an otherwise iffy bench. But as long as Jokic is around, Denver is a contender.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving went from not making the playoffs in their first year together to reaching the NBA Finals. What’s next? Well, this is a team that’s certainly capable of winning it all. Not only did they add some needed spot-up perimeter shooting in Klay Thompson, but the Mavericks also will have a full year of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.
So why do we have the Mavs at No. 3? For starters, Irving tends to miss a lot of games. He is already recovering from offseason hand surgery. While Doncic is the superior player these days, he needs Irving if you’re going to talk West’s best record. Also, it may take a minute for Thompson and the rest to adjust to each other. But once they do, a repeat of last year’s run is undoubtedly doable.
Yet another team that could win the West and surprise absolutely nobody. With rising star Anthony Edwards showing an ability to just take over games, Karl-Anthony Towns being as good as ever and Rudy Gobert protecting the paint, the Wolves have all the makings of a squad that can play its best when things mean the most.
Minnesota proved as much last season by utterly dominating Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs, and then stunning Denver in the second. Those experiences should only make the Timberwolves approach things with even more swagger — and perhaps more success — this season.
5. PHOENIX SUNS
Despite the big names and massive expectations, something was just off about this team last season. Initially, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal couldn’t stay on the floor together because of injuries. Then, when they finally did get some run, the chemistry seemed off.
The Suns hope to have addressed that by bringing in coach Mike Budenholzer, who beat Phoenix in the NBA Finals back when he coached Milwaukee. They also finally landed a veteran setup man in point guard Tyus Jones. Basically, this has the potential of all coming together, and if it does, look out.
- Others we could see finishing with top five seed: Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets.
- More NBA | Top five teams in Eastern Conference
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