Making a Run For The Playoffs: Western Conference Breakdown

With a little less than six weeks left of the 08-09 NBA season, blogger and editor Brandon Ribak breaks down the Western Conference and what seed each team will end the season in.

We start with the current eighth place team,

Dallas Mavericks (37-25, eighth place, .597 win %, 12.5 games behind)

The Dallas Mavericks are currently up two and a half games on the Phoenix Suns, who still have life at making a run for the playoffs.

The Mavericks need to stay healthy if they want to secure their spot in the playoffs this season.

Josh Howard is currently listed as day-to-day as he battles through numerous ankle sprains. Howard played only 18 minutes last night, as he was obviously not 100% on the court.

Jason Terry has recently returned from a broken hand injury that sat him out for the last eight games. He has scored in double figures in three of his last four games and is clearly a big part of the Mavericks offense.

The Mavericks won a big game against the San Antonio Spurs at home on Wednesday night 107-102, but followed that game with a loss to the New Orleans Hornets in an absolute blow-out 104-88.

Mavericks Upcoming Schedule: Phoenix Suns (2), New Orleans (2), Portland Trail Blazers (1), Los Angeles Lakers (1), Detroit Pistons (1), Atlanta Hawks (1), Denver Nuggets (1), Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Miami Heat (1), Utah Jazz (1), Houston Rockets (1)

With a pretty difficult schedule ahead, the Mavericks are going to have to step up their game and start producing more wins. They are currently looking at finishing the season as the eight seed and battling against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. That playoff series will not be fun for Maverick fans to watch.

Season ending prediction: Eighth seed

Portland Trail Blazers (38-23, T-7^th, .623 win%, 11.0 games behind)

The Blazers are currently tied for seventh place with the red hot Utah Jazz.

Portland is without starting center Greg Oden, who has now missed the last nine games and is not expected to come back for at least another week due to a bone chip in his left knee. Oden is a big part of the Blazers presence in the paint and will be a deciding factor regarding to what seed the team ends the year in.

Blazers Upcoming Schedule: Los Angeles Lakers (2), Dallas Mavericks (1), Atlanta Hawks (1), Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Philadelphia 76ers (1), Phoenix Suns (1), Utah Jazz (1), Houston Rockets (1), San Antonio Spurs (1), Denver Nuggets (1).

The Blazers will have to face the Los Angeles Lakers twice before the season ends. Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Travis Outlaw will have to improve their production for the Blazers as they look to move up in the rankings before the season ends. The Blazers have a chance to become the third seed come playoff time if they can remain healthy and continue to win games.

Season ending prediction: Seventh seed

Utah Jazz (38-23, T-7^th, .623 win%, 11.0 games behind)

The Utah Jazz is the hottest team in the NBA right now as they have won a league best nine straight games. They have finally come back to full strength after dealing with many injuries throughout this NBA season.

Carlos Boozer has now played in five games since missing the previous 44 games and has averaged 10 PPG, 8 RPG, 2 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 23 MPG. He scored a season high 20 points including 17 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in a win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Jazz Upcoming Schedule: Denver Nuggets (2), Atlanta Hawks (1), Miami Heat (1), Orlando Magic (1), Houston Rockets (1), Phoenix Suns (2), Portland Trail Blazers (1), New Orleans Hornets (1), Dallas Mavericks (1), San Antonio Spurs (1), Los Angeles Lakers (1).

The Jazz seem to play much better at home (27-6) than away (11-17) and will have to play five straight games on the road after Friday’s battle against the Denver Nuggets.

Boozer is a huge part of the Jazz’s success and along with super-star point-guard Deron Williams, the team will look to increase their current win streak. With an entire healthy roster, the Jazz look like a totally new and improved team and could easily end the season anyway from the third through fifth seed in the West.

Season ending prediction: Fifth seed

Houston Rockets (39-23, .629 win%, 10.5 games behind)

Since Tracy McGrady announced 10 games ago that he would undergo surgery, putting his season to an end, the Houston Rockets have gone 8-2. It almost seems as if the team is better off with No-Mac after all. Aaron Brooks has now emerged as a solid starting point-guard for the squad and players like Ron Artest, Yao Ming, and Luis Scola have stepped up their game.

Scola is averaging career-highs in virtually every category as a sophomore this season. He is putting up 12.66 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, and is shooting 53.3% from the field and 75.7% from the charity strike.

Players like Von Wafer, Carl Landry, and Shane Battier are proving that they have what it takes to make it past the first round of the playoffs and are now big contributors for this Rockets team.

Rockets Upcoming Schedule: Los Angeles Lakers (2), San Antonio Spurs (2), New Orleans Hornets (2), Phoenix Suns (2), Denver Nuggets (1), Detroit Pistons (1), Utah Jazz (1), Portland Trail Blazers (1), Orlando Magic (1), Dallas Mavericks (1).

The Rockets have a very tough schedule ahead of themselves as they face the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, and Suns two more times before the season ends. They will have to play extremely well to keep their fifth place record and will most likely drop to the sixth seed by the end of the season.

Season ending prediction: Sixth seed

New Orleans Hornets (38-22, .633 win%, 10.5 games behind)

Luckily for the Hornets their starting center Tyson Chandler failed his physical in the trade that would have sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunders. Chandler has re-emerged as a dominate big man down low grabbing no less than nine rebounds in each of his last six games since returning from an ankle injury. He has put up three double-doubles and has become a huge help in the Hornets recent success.

New Orleans are now on a leagues second best six game win streak and look like the Hornets of old. David West is completely dominating his opponents as of late averaging 27.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.0 APG, 42.0 MPG, including five double-doubles in each of his last five games.

Chris Paul is continuing his MVP campaign strong with career-highs in PPG (21.36) and RPG (5.30), along with a league best 11.05 APG and 2.70 SPG.

Hornets Upcoming Schedule: San Antonio Spurs (2), Houston Rockets (2), Dallas Mavericks (2), Atlanta Hawks (1), Denver Nuggets (1), Utah Jazz (1), Miami Heat (1), Phoenix Suns (1).

The Hornets are currently without small-forward Peja Stojakovic due to back spasms. He is averaging nearly 14 points per game and is a solid contributor to their offense. The Hornets will look to remain healthy for the rest of the NBA season and come out strong for the first round of the playoffs.

Season ending prediction: Fourth seed

Denver Nuggets (40-22, .645 win%, 9.5 games behind)

The Nuggets are having a stellar season with the addition of all-star point guard Chauncey Billups. Billups along with players like power-forward Nene are averaging career-high numbers this year.

Nene is putting up career-highs in PPG (14.8), RPG (7.92), and BPG (1.36). He has proven to be a great and reliable player for the Nuggets this season but is also very injury prone.

Power-forward Kenyon Martin is currently injured with a lower back strain as well as point-guard Anthony Carter who is out with a lower hip strain. These two players are viable assets to the Nuggets offense and defense and will need to make a return to the court soon if the team wishes to stay in third place.

Upcoming Schedule: Utah Jazz (2), Houston Rockets (1), Phoenix Suns (1), New Orleans Hornets (1), Dallas Mavericks (1), Los Angeles Lakers (1), Portland Trail Blazers (1).

The Nuggets have a fairly easy schedule ahead of themselves and will most likely end the season as the third seed going into the playoffs. The only downfall for Denver is if they can remain healthy throughout the rest of the season. Carmelo Anthony has just returned from a one game suspension and is expected to step up his game immensely. Players like J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza, and Chris Anderson will have to continue producing solid numbers as well.

Season ending prediction: Third seed

San Antonio Spurs (40-20, .667 win%, 8.5 games behind)

The San Antonio Spurs have an extremely solid team this season (just like every other year). Players like Roger Mason Jr. and Matt Bonner are fitting in well with head coach Gregg Popavich’s system. Tim Duncan is having another “Tim Duncan” type of season and has remained healthy thus far.

Tony Parker is raising eyebrows with his quick speed averaging career-highs with 20.86 PPG, 6.62 APG, 2.96 RPG, and shooting 81.2% from the free-throw line.

Manu Ginobili is currently injured with an ankle injury and is not expected to be back on the court for another two to three weeks. He is a huge part of the Spurs success and will be relied heavily upon come playoff time.

Upcoming Schedule: New Orleans (2), Houston Rockets (2), Phoenix Suns (1), Los Angeles Lakers (1), Boston Celtics (1), Atlanta Hawks (1), Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Portland Trail Blazers (1), Utah Jazz (1).

The Spurs have a fairly average schedule ahead of themselves as they will play the top teams in the West and East a few more times. They will hope for a speedy quick return of the European shooting-guard Ginobili and can prepare to make it to the Western Conference Finals come playoff time.

Season ending prediction: Second seed

Los Angeles Lakers (49-12), .803 win%, 0 games behind)

The Lakers are clearly the best team in the Western Conference, if not in the entire NBA. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have stepped up in the absence of starting center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers currently have the most wins in the entire NBA and are virtually unstoppable on the court.

Since being placed into the starting lineup, Lamar Odom is averaging super-star numbers putting up double-double after double-double. He has grabbed 10 plus rebounds during eight games in the month of February including two 19 rebound performances and one 20 rebound game. Odom is a huge part of the Lakers system and will be relied heavily upon come playoff time.

Kobe Bryant is having another MVP type season averaging 28.07 PPG, 5.52 RPG, 4.93 APG, 1.28 SPG and shooting a career-high 86.8% from the free throw line.

Upcoming Schedule: Portland Trail Blazers (2), Houston Rockets (2), San Antonio Spurs (1), Dallas Mavericks (1), Detroit Pistons (1), Atlanta Hawks (1), Denver Nuggets (1), Utah Jazz (1).

The Lakers are expecting Andre Bynum to make a return during the end of March and will obviously end the season with the best record in the West. They have a chance to make it all the way this season and are clearly determined to do so. You can expect to see the Lakers in the Finals this season, especially the way they are playing ball this season.

Season ending prediction: First seed