The trade deadline has passed, and now the NBA playoffs are on the horizon. The Thunder are still the team to beat in the West, but there’s tons of talent this year, and anyone can make a run.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder are still the most talented team in the West, especially after picking up Jared McCain from Philadelphia. Oklahoma City is 2nd offensively in PPG(points per game) and 1st defensively in PPG allowed. Oh yeah, and they also have the 2nd leading scorer in the NBA in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The future remains bright for the Thunder.
- San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are the new kids on the block in the West. After missing the playoffs entirely last year, San Antonio has been revamped with the young core surrounding Victor Wembanyama. Stephon Castle, DeAaron Fox, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell have all been key to San Antonio’s rebuilding into a contender. It’s going to be exciting to see how a young team led by a star talent will perform in the postseason.
- Denver Nuggets
As long as the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, they can contend for a championship. While Denver continues to struggle defensively, the Nuggets’ offense scores more points than any other team in the league, and that alone can take them far.
- Houston Rockets
It’s been a strange year in Houston. After a mediocre offense last year and a great defense, the addition of Kevin Durant seemed to address the offensive shortcomings. However, Houston’s offense has become worse than it was last year, and defensively, they’ve continued to play great. With the loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet to injury, it’s going to come down to the point guard position for the Rockets and how well the offense matures as the season progresses.
- Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves made some moves at the deadline, picking up a key guard in Ayo Dosunmu, who’s looked great so far for Minnesota. The Wolves still need to make a move in the offseason that will put them over the top and give them a real chance at contending with OKC.
- Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have been winning games, but it hasn’t been pretty. They sit around the middle of the league in terms of points per game offensively and points per game allowed defensively. Luka Doncic is phenomenal, but the Lakers are having trouble finding ways to win games as a team.
- Phoenix Suns
The Jordan Ott hire in Phoenix was one of the most underrated hires in recent memory, taking an assistant coach on a Cavs team that went 64-18 last season. The Suns may be the 7th seed, but they’ve kept in contention with the teams at the top of the West. Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker have been a phenomenal duo, and Phoenix could be a sneaky underdog in the first round of the playoffs.
- Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are desperately trying to make it work with the roster they have right now, but this team simply isn’t contending for a championship any time soon. Especially if they play the Thunder in round one.
