The Best In The West

With 64 wins and only 17 losses, it's only the LA Lakers that have secured their place in the Western Playoffs picture. Their current record means that they've already cemented their place at the top of the conference. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the contenders. With two more game days to go, the rest of the west still have to figure out who's going to be matched up against who as the rest of the 7 playoff slots are still yet to be decided.

Everyone already knows the teams that are going to be in the playoffs but no one is sure what the final rankings will be. Contending the 7 slots are the Denver Nuggets, the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trailblazers, the San Antonio Spurs, the New Orleans Hornets, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Utah Jazz.

The Top Spots
First to fourth spots are being highly contested because of the fact that these teams will automatically gain home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Take for instance the case of the Portland Trailblazers. With two days left in the regular season they can still finish fifth, fourth, or even third once it ends this Wednesday. It's likely that they'll be facing either the Spurs or the Rockets, but there is still a possibility that they could host the Mavs, the Hornets, or the Jazz.

The key matchup on Wednesday night is the game between the Nuggets and the Blazers at Portland. Should the former win, they would secure second spot and the right to play the 7th seed in the conference.

The Bottom Half
It's the same case at the bottom half of the table. The teams currently at the bottom three spots are the Hornets, the Mavs, and the Jazz. All three are avoiding the unwanted 8th spot as this would mean facing the current Western Conference Champions in the LA Lakers, led by current league MVP Kobe Bryant. All three have a tough test ahead of them, and it is the Jazz that have the most difficult assignment.

They are set to face the Lakers tomorrow, and if they lose, they are guaranteed the 8th spot and a first-round series encounter with the Lakers. The Mavs will be entertaining the Rockets while the Hornets will be visiting San Antonio. All three teams will be looking for the W as a loss would mean the possibility of facing a tougher team.

Headaches for the Staff
Although this situation may be causing some stress for the players because they currently don't know who they would be playing against come playoff time, imagine how hard it must be for the coaches and their staff. With very little time between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, coaching staffs will have to do their homework in advance.

Instead of scouting just one team, they would need to scout at least two or three possible opponents in the playoffs. This dilemma has also caused a headache for NBA commissioner David Stern who has yet to finalize his travel schedule for the playoffs. Until the dust has settled, Stern will need to wait it out before booking his flights and reserving his hotel rooms.

By: Jamie Hanson

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