Western Conference Playoff Race Heats Up With 30 Games Left

Buckle your seatbelts — because the Western Conference is about to provide some highly entertaining basketball over the next few months.

At this point in the regular season, only Utah and New Orleans appear to be out of the running for a possible playoff spot.

Scrappy underdogs San Antonio and Portland are within arm’s length of a play-in spot. Phoenix — a team possessing multiple All-NBA players in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant — sits in 11th place as of Feb. 12. Golden State is clinging to the final play-in spot. There’s hope Jimmy Butler can help in revitalizing a team struggling to play around Steph Curry.

Dallas is another team hoping to hang onto a playoff berth in the wake of new acquisition Anthony Davis potentially being out injured for the foreseeable future.

A new-look Sacramento squad featuring Zach LaVine could go head-to-head with last year’s darlings, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anytime we see Anthony Edwards play, there’s always the possibility of a potential ‘wow’ moment.

We then leap up to the top six, where these teams would theoretically get automatic playoff bids. The Clippers have outperformed expectations considerably thanks to excellent play from Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac. Houston’s team of youngsters is maturing before our eyes. Amen Thompson in particular is a budding star.

The Nuggets are on a hot streak thanks to the world’s best player in Nikola Jokic. Memphis finally has its full team back, and it’s one of the deeper squads in the league. OKC was billed to be the best team in the conference, and general wisdom has been proven accurate given the team’s spectacular 43-9 record through the first 52 contests.

Lastly, we have the Lakers. Sitting in the No. 4 spot as of Feb. 12, the basketball world shook violently upon a deal executed that brought Luka Doncic to Los Angeles.

Now paired with LeBron James, this dynamic duo is not one anyone will want to see come postseason time. Austin Reaves is playing with considerable confidence, the roster has been filled out with length and athleticism, and JJ Redick seems like a far superior coach compared to Darvin Ham.

With roughly 30 games remaining, there’s a strong likelihood this current order in the standings will change considerably.

Having said that, the NBA is as interesting as it’s been in years. There’s not one team standing out as the prohibitive favorite. It also helps that Doncic and James teamed up on the most noteworthy franchise in the league.

All eyeballs will be on the West as we inch closer and closer to the postseason. Once the order is set, expect an even better product on the floor featuring some of the best teams in the league.