No Time to Lose in the Great Northwest

The too close for comfort state of the Northwest division is getting downright interesting and a little cutthroat.

All teams are highly intriguing and all three could potentially upset some over-hyped overdogs in the playoffs.

Sometimes it's a match up problem, sometimes it's a too much talent problem, sometimes it's just too much potential problem and other times the best of all worlds wrapped up in a perennial western conference threat.

You never know what you are going to get from the Northwest, you just know that youre most likely going to get dealt with handedly.

Even the two cellar-dwellers in the division have great potential and some of the most promising stars on both teams: Al Jefferson on the Wolves and Kevin Durant of the Thunder. Both guys have franchise material written all over them and could be multiple year all-stars if they can get and stay healthy.

But right now all the Thunder and Wolves have to look forward to is being the down the stretch spoilers for west side teams who come in underestimating them.

But they will get their chance at making the playoffs next year, only hope is the lottery this year. Minnesota and the Thunder have a long way to go.

The top three in the Northwest are Utah, Denver and Portland. All teams are on pace to win at least 50 games or more and on this day, with 15 games left in the regular season, give or take, and all three teams only separated by 1 1/2 games, the playoffs have already begun, just like last year but this time it seems to have started up earlier.

Winning the division guarantees a top-four seed but it does not guarantee a home-court advantage as the Jazz know all too well.

And still the fourth seed puts you in that bracket of automatically facing the No. 1 seed in the second round, it's not really a seed to be desired if you really think about it without the advantage of the home court.

But look at them, they are all fighting for the coveted crown like little children trying to grasp a miniscule little jewel off of it.

Just to say; "We won the Northwest, and you didn't! haha!!"

It's that important.

For Utah, it's all they have and for Denver its something they never had and they haven't been out of the second round for the past five years.

Neither has Portland.

Both of these teams want some kind of banner or validation, anything, might as well be the Northwest crown, its a pretty snazzy prize.

It has resided in Utah for the past two years but this year it looks to be in great jeopardy of being yanked away and shipped off to a new unknown place.

It's fun to watch.

Who knows where it will end up, most sensible people would say Denver, they have the current statistical lead and the schedule down the stretch looking to be at least on paper, in their favor.

Denver has as much talent as any team out there, Billups has really helped their cause and if someone could help them with shot selection, they just might have something. Nene has the potential to dominate every night he plays and JR Smith off the bench is just wrong in the eyes of any opponent, he is what you call a machine.

And not a Vujacic kind of machine either...

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?