SteemSports Presenter:Hive account@dwin0603SteemSports Editor:Hive account@scottybuckets
Today, we will give you our Western Conference prediction. This is where it gets very interesting. I've got the Lakers finishing as the first seed. Now that Paul George is back and he plays pretty good with Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers, we can easily say that this can be a race between the Clippers and the Lakers. But I do think that the Lakers will win the first seed. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are just too dominant and they are now on top of the NBA with the best record. The coaching staff, the roster, everything they have built during the off season is outstanding and the patience is paying off. So, I think that the Lakers will be more successful than the Clippers in the regular season.
Now, for the second seed, I thought the Utah Jazz just based on their chemistry will have a better regular-season than the Clippers but with the way they play right now, it's just didn't happen. Mike Conley is not the player he used to be in Memphis and they lost some key players like Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio. It's clear that the Clippers will definitely do better than the Jazz so I'm gonna say that the Clippers will finish up as the second seed. The Denver Nuggets will finish as the third seed, I think. They have the same roster from last season and they are getting better. Jokic will have another great year so I put them at the third seed followed by the Utah Jazz as the 4th seed.
Before the season begins, I put the Portland Trail Blazers at the 5th seed but with their rough start and early struggles, I don't think they will finish higher than the 5th seed. I put the Houston Rockets next to the Denver Nuggets with the talent they have. They obviously have James Harden who is an absolute stud. It's gonna be interesting to see how he meshes with Russell Westbrook but I just don't think they're gonna have the chemistry to start the year so well, that's why with the Western Conference being so stacked, I will have them as the 5th seed. But when the playoffs start and if they have meshed, and they actually work well together, they could easily be a top team in the Western Conference. Then I will put the Portland Trail Blazers at the 6th seed if they recover from their early struggles.
I have the Dallas Mavericks at the 7th seed. Luka Doncic has been unbelievable. He's been playing at an MVP level and he's unstoppable. He can average a triple-double and the Mavericks are winning with him leading the franchise. He and Kristaps Porzingis are the key if they remain healthy for the rest of the season. This is where it's going to be crucial, the 8th seed. There are teams that will hardly battle for the last spot and those teams might be the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns. I'm counting out the Golden State Warriors because of the injuries that happened to them. D'Lo is out, Curry is out, Draymond Green is out, Klay will not come back, there are just too many injuries for them and I don't see them recover from the bottom of the West even if Curry, D'Lo and Green comes back. So, I will have them missing out the playoffs including the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans. So those are my Western Conference predictions.
I will be back to update this in a few weeks as we see how these new powerhouse combinations are working out or blowing up. This should be a fantastic stretch for the NBA and we need to enjoy it while it lasts, as when King James leaves the building for good, it might be a long time until we see this type of action.
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