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A look into why the Western NBA conference is the best.

Why The West Is Best: Spurs, Hornets, and Lakers

by Chris Varner (Scribe)

5

629 reads

Sports

February 19, 2008

NBA, NBA Atlantic, NBA Southwest, NBA Pacific, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Sports

John Soule was the man responsible for the quote, "Go west young man."  Referring to the opportunities on the frontier.

It appears that the NBA has taken this literally.  The Lakers started the trend this year, as they have in years past, by bringing in big man Pau Gasol.  Then there are the Suns who brought in Shaquille O'neal, and now Dallas bringing back Jason Kidd (despite the fact that the fans used to call him Ason Kidd because they said he had no J).

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I wonder if anyone has forgotten that the World Champion Spurs are still there, and until someone has eliminated them from contention they are just that, "World Champions."  They may have the deepest bench in the NBA.

The Hornets are leading the Spurs in the Southwest division, and the Rockets and Mavs aren't far behind.  In fact, four out of the five teams in the Southwest division have over 30 wins, and four and a half games separated first and fourth place at the All-Star break.

Houston, Utah, and the Lakers have been the hottest of the Western Conference teams  lately.  With Houston and Utah going 9-1 in their last 10, and the Lakers going 8-2, it's going to be a very exciting 2nd half.

So I guess the only question left is which team from the West is going to win the championship this year?

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comments (5) write a comment »

  1. reply to comment by Garen
    9 months ago

    Its obviously the lakers, unless raja bell decides to break kobe's finger this wednesday.

  2. reply to comment by Stephen
    9 months ago

    The funny thing is the East could easily steal the championship. Detroit and Boston could easily sweep most teams while each match up in the West could go to seven games.

    Nice read.

    1. by Jeremy
      from 9 months ago

      But does sweeping through the playoffs really help? Is it better to be so dominate that you're watching more than playing, or to play and get hot on your way to the finals?

    2. by Jeremy
      from 9 months ago

      Talk about runs? Detroit just lost one, but not before running off 10 straight wins.

      In that stretch Detroit posted quality wins over Orlando, the Lakers, Dallas, and Portand. They also outscored their opponents by an average of 10.6 ppg.

      Also, don't forget that Boston is 16-1 against the western conference so far!

  3. reply to comment by Anonymous
    9 months ago

    The Lakers did not lose to the Pistons by much. It was 90-89 and before the Gasol deal. Odom airballed his game winner attempt.

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