The West is dope.
Over the season we’ve seen
many star players plagued with a range of injuries in the Western
Conference—Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Pau Gasol, Chris Paul,
Dwight Howard, Jamal Crawford, David Lee—yet the West continues to outshine the East when it
comes to numbers. As the Phoenix Suns (46-31) attempt to cling to the West’s
eighth seed, they can at least relish the fact they have 12 wins over the
Atlanta Hawks (34-43)—the East’s eighth seed. And when it comes to winning
streaks, the West outperforms the East again. The San Antonio Spurs hold a
19-game winning streak compared to Miami Heat’s 10.
It’s no surprise that San
Antonio and Oklahoma City hold the top two spots in the West. It is a surprise
to see the Portland Trail Blazers (#5) and the Suns (#8) in the top eight. But
between Portland’s offense—season averages of 23 points for LaMarcus Aldridge,
21 points and six assists for Damian Lillard and 16 points for Wesley Matthews—not
to mention their incredible defense, it makes sense Portland grabbed a spot.
Phoenix has made great strides to nab the last slot in the playoffs and much of
their success is due to the unique point guard duo of Goran Dragic and Eric
Bledsoe on court. These last couple games will determine the Suns’ fate for the
playoffs. But since they’ve had some significant wins especially towards the
end of the season when it counts, I think they’ll pull it off.
The West has a lot going for
them and I haven’t even mentioned my two favorite players: Kevin Durant and
Steph Curry. Let’s start with Durant. I don’t think it’s possible to dislike
the guy. Durant’s scoring streak of 25+ points ended
at 41 games last night when OKC beat the Sacramento Kings 107-92. He surpassed
Michael Jordan for the longest streak in the last 50 years and what did he have
to say? “I don’t really care about it.” And he meant it. Personality
isn’t a factor in the MVP race, but between his character and amazing
stats—he’s the 2013-14 PPG leader at 32 points—Durant deserves to win.
I’ve loved Steph Curry and
the Golden State Warriors for the last few years, but his talent continues to
amaze me (Did you see his last-second shot against Dallas in OT last
week?). According to Durant, Curry is the best three point shooter in the NBA,
and he’s right. Curry’s ability to make threes after threes is redonkulous. His
enthusiasm and lively energy, not to mention his nearly perfect shooting form, make him one of the
most exciting players to watch in the NBA.
With 4-5 games left in the
season, here are the current standings for the West:
W
|
L
|
PCT
|
CONF
|
DIV
|
HOME
|
|
San Antonio
|
60
|
18
|
0.769
|
36-12
|
11-3
|
31-8
|
Oklahoma City
|
56
|
21
|
0.727
|
34-15
|
11-5
|
32-7
|
L.A. Clippers
|
55
|
23
|
0.705
|
34-14
|
11-4
|
32-6
|
Houston
|
52
|
25
|
0.675
|
29-18
|
9-4
|
31-8
|
Portland
|
50
|
28
|
0.641
|
27-21
|
12-3
|
28-10
|
Golden State
|
48
|
29
|
0.623
|
28-19
|
10-5
|
26-13
|
Dallas
|
48
|
31
|
0.608
|
28-21
|
9-5
|
25-14
|
Phoenix
|
46
|
31
|
0.597
|
26-21
|
7-8
|
26-14
|
Memphis
|
45
|
32
|
0.584
|
26-23
|
3-12
|
24-14
|
Minnesota
|
39
|
38
|
0.506
|
22-26
|
7-8
|
23-15
|
Denver
|
33
|
44
|
0.429
|
17-30
|
4-11
|
20-18
|
New Orleans
|
32
|
45
|
0.416
|
13-34
|
3-11
|
20-18
|
Sacramento
|
27
|
51
|
0.346
|
14-34
|
3-11
|
16-23
|
L.A. Lakers
|
25
|
53
|
0.321
|
13-35
|
6-9
|
14-25
|
Utah
|
24
|
54
|
0.308
|
12-36
|
3-10
|
16-23
|
For those who
thought the Lakers were still a contender after Kobe’s second knee injury last
year, you were laughably wrong. The Lakers are currently in the
second-to-last slot, beating only the Utah Jazz by one pitiful game. Kobe has
been sidelined since December 17th and his team has been 13-40
(!) since he last stepped on the court.
That’s right, 13-40.
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