NBA Playoffs: Previewing the Western Conference

With the NBA season just five days away from being over, and the top 10 teams are finalized with the seeding still being determined. We wanted to look at the Western Conference and preview the 10 teams that will make it and what each team is bringing to the table.  

First up we have the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that is led by one of the better young players in the NBA Anthony Edwards. They are fighting with the likes of the Thunder, and Nuggets for the number one seed and they can only fall as low as number three.

They are going to get Karl Anthony Towns back just in time for the playoffs and should be fully healthy. The best asset they have is they have the best defense in the NBA and will look to ride that in the playoffs.

After, loosing to the Nuggets last year in the playoffs as an 8th seed, this year they are hoping for a deeper playoff run.

The defending NBA champions are posed for another deep playoff run and are still the favorites to come out of the west. They might not be as deep and as good as they were last year, but that doesn't change the fact that all around they are still the best team in the West.

With being the 2nd seed they could be positioned to open up the playoffs with a matchup against a team like the Suns, Lakers, or Kings. These are not the greatest matchups you would like to see in a round one matchup.

The only question mark entering the playoffs for them is health. With all five starters dealing with injuries this week how healthy will they be come playoffs. Obviously, some of these injuries could be just precautionary, but some may not.

A healthy Nuggets team is the best team in the West and if they are healthy, they will most likely be the team representing the West in the finals.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the youngest team in the playoffs and are led by the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. The team no one thought would be a top three seed in the Western Conference before the season started.

They were at number one a couple of weeks ago, however with the injuries to Shai and Williams they went 1-3 during that stretch which slid them down to number three. However they are back healthy again just before the start of the playoffs.

The Thunder are going to be a very hard team to beat especially with them having a top five offense and defense, first in three point percentage, first in blocks, and of course their MVP Candidate in Shai.

They have all the makings of a championship team the only question mark surrounding them is age and experience, and will that ultimately be their downfall. In the regular season they never played like a young team and it will be interesting to see if they can carry that into the postseason.

When the new year happened, they were looking like the best team in the West, however after the all-star break they have been a little inconsistent and have fallen to the 4th seed. They are probably the scariest team to the Denver Nuggets in their hopes of going back to the Finals.

They are the deepest team in the West led by Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden. The best move they made all year was having Russell Westbrook come of the bench and be the leader of that second unit.

With hopefully a healthy Kawhi, they are the scariest team in the West and a team no one wants to play. It will not shock me to see the Clippers come out of the West.

The Mavericks were one of the winners of the trade deadline adding Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington Jr. and it has shone how important they have been to Dallas. They are probably the second scariest team behind the Clippers.

They are led by the duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic a duo that on any given night can go for 40 a piece between the two of them.  

With them most likely facing off against the Clippers in a matchup we have seen already multiple times in the playoffs. It is shaping up to be the best first round matchup in the West. Whoever wins this series could very well be the team to come out of the West.

The Pelicans who have been hovering around the playoffs for a couple of years now and haven't gotten in, mostly due to the health of Zion Williamson. However, finally with a healthy Zion this could be the year they get in the playoffs.

They have a great mix of youth and playoff experience that should fair nicely in the playoffs. As long as Zion and Ingram are healthy in the playoffs they can match up with anyone in the playoffs.

With a first round matchup looking to be against the Thunder, the team that knocked them out last year, is going to be a fun matchup to watch.

With the loss last night to the Clippers, they have unfortunately fell back to the 7th seed and the play-in tournament. The big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal haven't played a ton of games together and that is why they are the 7th seed.

The biggest problem they have is lack of depth, and inconsistency problems were on some night they can play like a championship team and other night they don't.

If they are able to get in, they will definitely be a team that is scary with the top heavy talent they have. However with a first round matchup against the Nuggets, Thunder, or Timberwolves a first round exit could be in the future for the Suns.

The Kings that are led by De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are another scary team from the play-in tournament. They are a team that likes to play fast and score in transition as much as possible and can change the pace of any series they are apart of.

The question for them will they be able to have Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter back in time for the playoffs or not. They are a better defensive team with them gone but have struggled at times on the offensive end without them.

If they can get fully healthy they will be another team to watch out for in the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Lakers that are led by LeBron James are probably the scariest team in the play-in tournament. If the Lakers can get in the playoffs, you can never count out LeBron even at the age of 39.

The big question for them is how serious is the injury to Anthony Davis and will it affect him in the playoffs. Without Davis they will not make it far in the playoffs. However, with a healthy Davis they could have another deep playoff run ahead of them as long as they don't get matched up with the Nuggets in the first round.

Also, since the all-star break they have been one of the better teams and have been playing their best as of recently.

Our final team is the Golden State Warriors who are a dangerous team if they get in just with their experience and shooting ability. They are probably one of the weaker teams out of the four in the play-in tournament, but have picked it up as of late.

Klay Thompson has been playing better in recent weeks and with Steph Curry still doing Curry things, they will definitely be a tough out in the playoffs.

They have the toughest road to get in with having to win two games on the road, especially against teams like the Lakers and possibly the Suns.