What We Learned from Sunday's NBA Western Conference Action
All eyes were on the NCAA tournament over the weekend, but with less than a month remaining before the end of the regular season, it is crunch time in the NBA playoff race, with teams jockeying for or just fighting for spots.
While the Eastern Conference has a storylines, with three teams within one game of the eighth seed, the real intrigue lies in the West. With possibly the best collection of teams in memory from first to 10th place, the Western Conference playoffs an absolute bloodbath.
With that in mind, here are the top lessons learned from Sunday night’s NBA action.
Russell Westbrook is good enough to carry the Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder received some bad news last week when superstar forward Kevin Durant down indefinitely with a foot injury that him all season.
Coupled with injuries to Westbrook in the 2013 playoffs and Serge in 2014's edition, the Thunder have seen three straight seasons in which they were initially favorites to win the West go wasted.
However, the Thunder have rallied and are back in control of the playoff spot.
As of last Tuesday, Oklahoma City with New in the standings at 37-30, and things weren’t looking great. Since then, the Thunder have won three straight, while the Pelicans have lost three straight. OKC is in a much more comfortable spot earning a first-round matchup with the Golden State warriors.
The human triple-double machine that is Russell Westbrook has continued to build on an already incredible season and has shown he is capable of carrying this team even without Durant.
If the Thunder can hold on and make it to the playoffs, the chances of beating the Warriors without a healthy Durant aren’t great. But Westbrook to make things interesting with the form he is in and could turn a wasted season into something memorable.
Watch out: The Spurs are back
I don’t know why it is that every year we fall into the same trap the Spurs set for us. It usually starts early in the season, as everybody writes a think piece about how San Antonio is past its expiration date and can’t continue to dominate the Western Conference.
This season, that belief lasted a little longer. Tony Parker looked mortal, Tim Duncan has been great but much more limited and younger players like Leonard haven’t seemed to develop as expected.
But just like clockwork, the Spurs have peaked with the season winding down and look like a serious threat in the playoffs once again. Despite falling to the at the beginning of the week, San Antonio finished it with a 19-point demolition of the Atlanta Hawks.
It is fair to say the Hawks themselves aren’t in the best form, but that doesn’t mean the win is any less impressive for San Antonio. Leonard had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Splitter put up 23 points, and the team play that the franchise has become known for was on display once again.
Even though it hasn’t been the strongest season for San Antonio, it's back to business as usual, and if the Spurs can continue to climb the standings, they could be a serious threat to defend their crown in the playoffs.
The Suns aren’t out of it yet
Since the All-Star break, the assumption has been that the playoff spot in the West was going to go to either the Thunder or the Pelicans—and with good reason.
With two of the game's top 10 players, Westbrook and Anthony Davis, Oklahoma City and New are must-watch teams whenever they play.
But there is another team lurking, one that has been on a hot streak of late.
While once thought fading out of the race, the Phoenix Suns have won four straight games, two of which came against playoff teams (including Sunday's 98-92 win against the Mavericks), and have moved ahead of the Pelicans by a half-game in the standings.
Still two-and-a-half in back of the Thunder and with an absolutely brutal schedule remaining, there is a long way to go for the Suns, but things are looking good in the post-Goran era.
Eric Bledsoe is at the top of his game, and the Morris twins and Alex Len give Phoenix one of the best in the NBA.
With games remaining against the Pelicans and the Thunder, the Suns are one of the teams best positioned to influence the battle for the playoff spot. Whether or not they claim the spot for themselves remains seen, but it seems as if the Suns off a little too early in the battle out West.
