If we look at the standings in the Western Conference as of Sunday night, the match-ups that would take place in the playoffs in a little over two months would be unbelievable. The “Bestern” conference has been far and away better all season. As of this writing, the West boasts 10 teams with 28 or more wins, compared to just four in the East. As an NBA fan, it’s time to start getting excited about what could shape up to be an entertaining Western Conference playoffs come April. Let’s take a look at what we could be expecting.
Round 1 Matchups:
(1) Phoenix Suns v. (8) Golden State Warriors: Talk about firepower. This would be far and away one of the most entertaining and fast paced playoff series since the 1980’s. Think of the speed and the points that would be put up here. With the two highest scoring teams in the NBA under one roof for seven games, we could see 130-125 almost every game. We can only hope that it remains this way through April, and NBA fans around the country can rejoice. Because this is one pairing I would pay to watch.
(2) Dallas Mavericks v. (7) Denver Nuggets: Slightly slower pace than the series above, but a hell of a pair of teams nonetheless. Dirk, Melo, Camby, Howard, AI, Avery. How fun would this be? Dallas has slowed the pace considerably since the days of Don Nelson, but they can still run with the best. Denver loves to run and gun, and they are very good at it. Put me down as a fan of seeing this one as well.
(3) New Orleans Hornets v. (6) LA Lakers: When you have Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul on the floor at the same time in a seven-game series, good things can only come out of it. Both are MVP candidates right now, and both are leading their teams to heights that only seemed like a dream before the season started. The Hornets look to be slipping, but if they can hold on to this spot, this 3-6 match up would be amazing as well.
(4) Utah Jazz v. (5) San Antonio Spurs: Last, but certainly not least, would be a rematch of last seasons Western Conference Finals. Utah came out of nowhere last year to get as far as they did, but this year they will look for certain revenge against the Spurs team that went on to take the title. The Jazz are a fun, fast paced team led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. The Spurs are the Spurs. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. If they can stay healthy, this would be yet another great series to see come playoff time.
As you can see, the West would set itself up for one wild ride through the postseason. If you’re a fan, hold on.
This should be fun.
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