Predicting how the 2019 NBA Playoff picture will play out in the
Western Conference, as the Lakers, Kings and Clippers battle for the final spot
The Western Conference is as stacked as it’s ever been in
recent years. At one point this season, 14 out of the 15 teams seemed to have a
legitimate shot at making the playoffs (sorry, Phoenix Suns).
Now teams like the Memphis
Grizzlies, New Orleans
Pelicans and Dallas
Mavericks have all seemingly dropped out of the race, leaving 11
teams to fight it out for the eight playoff spots available.
The Golden State
Warriors, Denver
Nuggets and Oklahoma City
Thunder all seem to be locked into the top three spots. The Portland
Trail Blazers and Houston
Rockets look to be playoff locks as well, meaning there are
three spots left between the Utah Jazz, San Antonio
Spurs, Los Angeles
Clippers, Sacramento
Kings, Los
Angeles Lakers and Minnesota
Timberwolves.
With less than two months remaining in the 2018-19 NBA
regular season, we try and predict how the Western Conference playoff picture
will play out. Let’s start off by looking at who is most likely to fall out of
the playoff race.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Despite remaining competitive throughout the season after
all the Jimmy Butler drama and subsequent trade,
the T’Wolves just don’t have enough to make it in, in this stacked Western
Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns has been a beast
and Derrick Rose has been one of the best stories all
year but there just aren’t enough other pieces on this squad to make them
anything more than a decent, middle-of-the-pack team.
The only thing that could change Minnesota’s fortunes is
if Andrew Wiggins can come out of nowhere
and become the 20-25 point-per-game scorer he once seemed destined to be.
However, that is looking more and more unlikely by the day. Credit the Wolves
for not falling apart after the departure of Jimmy B, though.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Sacramento Kings have surprised everyone this year.
Before the season, most would have had them as a bottom-feeder and lottery
contender but they came out with a vastly improved young core (led by their
dynamic backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield) and have just played hard and
competed every night.
They also added Harrison Barnes at the trade deadline
which was a big upgrade on the wing.
So, why are they going to be on the outside looking in at
season’s end?
Although acquiring Barnes was a smart move, it will take a
little while to get him acclimated into the team but they can’t really afford
to play the long game here. And that is what will ultimately lead to their
downfall. With only three playoff spots up for grabs, the Kings just don’t have
enough time to overtake a team like Utah and I don’t see them sneaking into the
eighth spot because of another team I’ll get to in a little bit.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers were looking like a playoff lock early in the
year. They even occupied the No. 1 seed in the West for a brief time. However,
they did eventually come back down to Earth but were still a good team and a
tough out.
But that all changed when they traded away their leading
scorer and best player, Tobias Harris at the deadline.
It seems clear the organization didn’t want to just be an
average team, happy with just making the playoffs and instead opted to go in
the opposite direction, looking to rebuild. Because of this, don’t expect this
team to still occupy the final playoff spot when the season is over. I imagine
they’ll slip below .500 before too long.
That means it comes down to the Jazz, Spurs and Lakers; the
teams who I think have the best chance of making the playoffs. Now, Utah and
San Antonio currently occupy the sixth and seventh spots; both have been
playing well as of late and both teams are healthy. So it isn’t too much of a
stretch to have them remain in the top eight for the rest of the year. Things
get interesting when we talk about the third and final team from this list; the
Los Angeles Lakers.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Lakers currently sit at 29-30, three games back of the
eight spots. And with just 25 games left, any rational person would think it’s
a real long shot they get in and they would be right if this were just any
middle-of-the-pack team. But we’re missing one key factor here…
Arguably the greatest basketball player to ever have lived.
The current best player on the planet who continues to defy age. The best
leader in the sport and a guy that has not missed the playoffs since his second
year in the league in 2005!
If history has taught us anything – in basketball and sports
in general – it’s that you should never count out the true greats. And that’s
why I have LeBron and the Lakers not only making it into the playoffs but
overtaking the Spurs to get the seventh seed, avoiding the Warriors in round
one.
Expect a healthy, motivated and energized LeBron to come out
of the gates swinging post-all-star break.
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