Heading in to the 2017-2018 NBA season, most fans expected the Western Conference to dominate the league.
Marquee names such as Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Paul Millsap, and Jimmy Butler moved West, while only Gordon Hayward left. The balance of power seemed heavily in favor of the Western Conference.
So far this year, however, several teams are not living up to their pre-season expectations. Besides the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors taking first and second, the following six spots are up for grabs.
Portland Trail Blazers
After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night, the Portland Trail Blazers are fourth in the West. The team is 10-7, but could easily have a few extra wins if they performed better down the wire.
At 10-7, the Blazers trail first place by three games and third by just one (San Antonio Spurs). The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets share the same record and the New Orleans Pelicans sit one game back on Portland.
Looking at the next five games, the Blazers play solely Eastern Conference teams. They start against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, followed by the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks.
Portland hunts for revenge on the Nets and Bucks. Hopefully this motivation and determination will produce at least two wins from the road trip. The 76ers, Wizards and Knicks all present winnable games for the Blazers as well. A positive result would be three or more wins out of the next five.
Other Western Conference Teams
Minnesota Timberwolves
The T-Wolves have the same record as Portland. They’ve lost the last two games and have dropped several winnable games throughout the season.
Against the Eastern Conference, Minnesota is 2-4. In their next five games, three are against teams from the East. Losing one or two of those could give Portland a minor leg-up in the standings.
Unless Minnesota improves their poor defense, the team will continue to lose the occasional easy matchup – a slip-up that won’t fly in the West.
Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC is currently outside the playoff picture with a 7-9 record after losing their last two. The Thunder struggle with ball movement and getting their “Big Three” involved together on offense. When one performs well, the other two generally dip below season averages.
Their next five games include the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, a probable loss even if Kevin Durant sits.
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic experiences consistency issues this year and now Paul Millsap is sidelined with a minor wrist injury.
Denver plays Houston and Memphis the next two games, not boding well for an up-and-down, injured team. The following three matchups are all against sub-.500 teams, which could keep the Nuggets in the picture with Portland.
New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans sits one game behind Portland in the Western Conference standings. DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are playing at a career level together this year, but they don’t have much support from the remaining roster.
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Portland’s evolved bench gives the advantage to Rip City. When the two teams face off this season, that became critical for the Blazers to win, even with Davis out for the second half.
New Orleans’ next five include Golden State and San Antonio, suggesting the team falls behind in the Western playoff race.