With the All-Star Game and all of its festivities wrapping up this weekend, the second half of the NBA season got under way last night. This is the time when teams make a push for the postseason, and in the Western Conference, that will be no easy feat. Traditionally, the West is the NBA's deeper conference, with between nine and 12 teams typically boasting records around .500 or better and legitimate chances at making the playoffs.
This season is no different. Here's how the contenders stack up:
Oklahoma City Thunder (Currently 1st Place)
The Thunder are the runaway favorites to win the West, and it's easy to see why. The team features two of the NBA's top young talents in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as a dynamic bench player in James Harden. They have the youth to keep up with the condensed schedule, and their playing experience that will serve them well in the playoffs. The only knock on them is that Durant and Westbrook still can't quite coexist when Westbrook is running the point. Westbrook is a fantastic one-on-one player, but his decision-making still isn't where it needs to be in order to play point guard. Look for the Thunder to make a move before the trade deadline for a true point guard. If they do, the West is theirs to lose.
Prediction: No. 1 seed
San Antonio Spurs (2nd Place)
This age-defying team continues to overachieve in the regular season, and they currently hold the second spot in the West. What's even more impressive is that they're doing it without some key pieces -- Manu Ginobili is injured, and George Hill left via free agency -- that allowed them to earn the top seed in last year's playoffs. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan continue to school the young guns on how to run the pick-and-roll to perfection, and a deep bunch of productive role players round out the lineup. The Spurs will probably lock up a high playoff seed, but leaning on role players won't do them any good in the postseason.
Prediction: No. 2 or 3 seed
3rd Los Angeles Clippers (3rd Place)
You know it's a weird season when the Clippers get talked about before the Lakers do, but the Clippers have earned the right to be "LA's team," at least for this season -- see Lakers 16 championships, Clippers none. What's amazing is that the Clippers' roster has all the right pieces to make them contenders: the floor general, Chris Paul; the budding star, Blake Griffin; the productive veterans, Mo Williams, Caron Butler and Kenyon Martin; and the defensive monster, DeAndre Jordan. The only things preventing them from being a true title contender are their lack of playing time together and coach Vinny Del Negro's awful offensive schemes, though Paul has been making up for a lot of his coach's shortcomings.
Prediction: No. 2, 3 or 4 seed
Dallas Mavericks (4th Place)
After shaking off a slow start, the Mavericks really came on strong heading into the All-Star break. It's hard to believe that they'd even be close to where they were in the standings last season after losing two players, J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler, who were extremely important in their championship run last season. Reigning NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki has finally played himself into shape after admitting to being unfit in the beginning of the season. The team is old; their most important players have more than 10 years of playing experience each. Also, the Mavs also don't really have a reliable point guard. Jason Kidd is too old, and in a season dominated by point guards, Kidd simply isn't going to cut it.
Prediction: No. 3 or 4 seed
Los Angeles Lakers (5th Place)
It is rumored that the Lakers might sign Rasheed Wallace in an attempt to bolster their roster. That alone says a lot about where this team is. The Lakers needed to make a big move, particularly signing a point guard or trading for Dwight Howard, in order to make a legitimate deep playoff push, but signing Wallace is the last move the team should make. The Lakers will continue to drink from the Kobe Bryant well until that runs dry -- which will be whenever Kobe says so. Until they effectively incorporate big men PauGasol and Andrew Bynum into the offense, or until they make a move that truly invigorates the team, they will continue to be in the middle of the pack. Their horrendous road record will also be their downfall in the postseason if they can't secure home-court advantage in any series.
Prediction: No. 4, 5 or 6 seed
Houston Rockets (6th Place)
The Rockets are a perfect example of how having a pure point guard translates to success this NBA season. The team is made up of a bunch of players that wouldn't really excite anyone with their names alone, such as Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Samuel Dalembert. But they are led by Kyle Lowry, who has established himself as one of the more productive point guards in the league this season. Coach Kevin McHale really likes opening up the bench, and the players are putting in good production with the help of a wealth of pure point guards to control the flow of the offense. The lack of a pure star, though, will eventually hurt them.
Prediction: No. 7 or 8 seed, or out
Memphis Grizzlies (7th Place)
The Grizzlies are an extremely interesting case. They started the season slow but have since clawed their way to a playoff position. They have the potential to lock up a middle-seed, but injuries have once again shaped their season. In addition, Rudy Gay, who missed much of last season with injury, is showing everyone why he deserved that max-contract he signed, even though he wasn't selected as an All Star. It will be interesting to see what happens when Zach Randolph comes back, as he was a big reason for their playoff success last season but hasn't played with Gay all too much. If they can hit their stride going into the postseason, the Grizzlies will be a team no one wants to face.
Prediction: No. 4, 5, or 6 seed
Portland Trailblazers (8th Place)
The Trailblazers have been a mostly disappointing bunch this season. Most expected them to break out with their budding star LaMarcusAldridge, but while they have shown flashes of greatness, their inconsistent play currently has them barely making the playoffs. Aldridge has been playing like one of the best young power forwards in the game today, but the rest of his teammates haven't quite matched his level of play. The Blazers are still insistent on developing Nicolas Batum into a quality player and are somewhat maniacal at times for letting Jamal Crawford run the point, but somehow they're making it all work.
Prediction: No. 7 or 8 seed, or out
On the outside looking in
The Denver Nuggets are the team not currently in playoff position that has the best chance of playing their way in. Injuries to DaniloGallinari and Nene have caused them to drop in the standings, but they have utilized their bench and shown they have a deep roster. Not only do they have a chance to grab the last playoff spot, but if they can get back to the level of play they were showing early in the season, they could lock up one of the top four seeds.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the other team that fans want to see in the playoffs, especially after watching Kevin Love light it up in the three-point contest and Ricky Rubio dish out crazy assists in the Rising Stars Challenge. The T'Wolves are clearly trying to build around Love and Rubio, as they should, but their inability to hold a .500 record shows that they aren't ready to push for the playoffs yet.
