The Wild Wild West

The Western Conference is better than it has ever been, and right now, 5 games separate the 9th seed from the 1st seed. With the Hornets leading the way out west, with a 37-15 record, the Lakers and Suns are right behind them with records of 37-17.

The West has been so close all season long, and now more than ever, it is really heating up. With the trade deadline past, and players like Jason Kidd, Shaquille O’Neal, Pau Gasol, and even Kyle Korver coming out West, the race is become even tighter. Yes, you may laugh at the fact that I put Korver in with the group of perennial All-Stars, but with Kyle, the Jazz have gone 18-3, and now have the #4 seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 7-1 since the acquisition of Pau Gasol, and now have the #4 seed in the West, while the Suns and Mavericks are 0-1 with their new superstars on the court.

What amazes me the most, is that the San Antonio Spurs are the #5 seed in the West, despite being the reigning champions of the league. They are just 1.5 games back of first place, but because the three division leaders get a guaranteed top four spot, they are looking up to the Jazz. The extraordinary play of Manu Giniobli has given them a spark as of late, including last night when he hit the game winning shot with 6 seconds left, just to add to his already stellar performance in which he scored 44 points, making 7-9 three pointers.

Dallas currently sits in the 6th seed, but they are just 3 games back of first place, and even more amazing, the Golden State Warriors are 12 games over .500, and are the #9 seed in the Western Conference. Right now, they would be #3 in the East, that’s how stacked the Western Conference is this season. The Warriors have been playing excellent basketball since C-Webb has come along, including a huge win over the Celtics on Wednesday night, in which Baron Davis worked his late game heroics and hit the game winning shot with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Warriors the 129-117 win. A year after pulling the biggest upset in NBA playoff history, beating the #1 seed Mavericks as the #8 seed, the Warriors look to maybe knock Dallas out of the playoffs this year, as they are just 2 games behind them in the playoff race.

Rounding out the bottom of the conference are the Rockets, who are the 7th seed, currently in the middle of a 10 game winning streak. And even better for them, they added Bobby Jackson, who used to play with Coack Rick Adleman back in Sacramento, along with high-flyer Gerald Green, who has never gotten a chance to show his talent. I think he will greatly help this Rockets team as an option off of the bench, and possibly a starter over Shane Battier. Right now though, Yao and T-Mac are healthy and playing extremely well. And finally, the Denver Nuggets, who were one of the only teams in the Western Conference who didn’t make a big move at the deadline. But they feel comfortable, only 4.5 games out of first place, and just 1.5 games behind the division leading Jazz. And team with A.I. and Melo has a great chance of winning.

In conclusion, this is clearly the best Western Conference we have seen. With the re-emergence of the Lakers, the surprising play of the top-seeded Hornets, along with all the huge trades make basketball exciting once again; at least in the Western Conference.