In the west, behind the top four in the class (Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma and Los Angeles Clippers), the fight for a place in the playoffs could extend to practically all the remaining teams (except for the Los Angeles Lakers, now cut out), even if realistically the lot of formations that from now on will compete for the last useful place should stop at the New Orleans Pelicans (currently in twelfth position, six wins, but with three games less, away from Portland Trail Blazers, eighths), while Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves with exactly ten victories to recover over Portland, which with thirty games to go, and with different formations ahead, now seem frankly unbridgeable.
Last useful place because, although there are still more than two months left to the end of the regular season, even the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets (despite having a better record, but not so far from the others) shouldn't have major problems finishing in the magnificent eight, thus reducing the battle to 5 teams: Portland, Utah, Sacramento, Denver and New Orleans. But let's go in order trying to clarify as much as possible, even if 4/5 days are enough to change certain hierarchies. Having said that first place should be a two-way race between Golden State and San Antonio, with the Warriors undisputed leaders so far, Oklahoma lurking in third place but with a few defeats too many to worry Curry and his companions and the Clippers immediately behind, then we find Memphis, Dallas and Houston, currently in that order, but with similar records and locations that can quickly change.
All three are clearly better equipped than those that follow them, however it will be difficult for one of them to be able to unseat the Clippers from fourth position, they are united by the fact that they did not start with title ambitions, and in general with something less than the last seasons, but, barring cataclysms, their place in the playoffs should be assured and there they could annoy even the most popular opponents. At the moment the Grizzlies are in command of the trio, thanks above all to the numerous victories that have arrived in the last period, definitively erasing the bad start to the season, which had made us think of a sharp decline (which, however, can still be glimpsed) compared to recent years , during which the group led by Conley, Randolph, Gasol had transformed from tough and bad to winner.
A group that is always the same, with the additions of Matt Barnes and above all the renewed energy of Mario Chalmers, but the field factor of the FedEx Forum is fundamentally once again often decisive. For Dallas the story may be similar, with the Mavs who had entered this season after the departures of Rondo, Ellis and Chandler and above all after the affair DeAndre Jordan, the center of the Clippers first arrived in Texas, then vanished and finally returned back in California, certainly not the best conditions for doing well. And instead the newcomers, from Deron Williams to Wesley Matthews, who went to increase the perimeter danger of a formation that already has weapons like Nowitzki and Parsons, but above all the arrival of Pachulia under the knife, are proving to be the right choices and are giving their precious contribution, perhaps unexpected.
Surprising and admirable above all Zaza Pachulia, the Georgian ex Milwaukee who in his thirteenth season overseas is probably experiencing his best year and, together with the athleticism of his replacement McGee, are not making Jordan and his retrofront too much regret. It is impossible not to say a few words about Dirk Nowitzki, who is almost 38 years old and after a European Championship certainly not lived as a protagonist (and at the end of which he gave a moving farewell to his national team), for the umpteenth season he is proving to be far from a finite player and that aging like him should be the dream of any sportsman.
Wunder Dirk can no longer be the one of his best seasons, but in the meantime the big German is still on the field for an average of 30 minutes per game, putting more than 17 points on the scoresheet, leader without discussions of a group that instead is getting much less from Chandler Parsons , the great coup of two years ago but which in recent months does not go beyond 12 points per match. Dallas, however, is a solid lineup, which cannot be said of the Houston Rockets, potentially stronger and with a longer roster than their rivals, but who most often give the idea of a team that can explode (in a positive sense) or implode , with the same naturalness and speed. Fresh from last season's excellent final, with second place in the regular season and elimination only in the conference final at the hands of Golden State, Josh Smith was let go in the summer and the always useful Ty Lawson arrived, so nothing spin shots to try to further improve the team, but it was still reasonable to expect a path with fewer missteps than the one made in these first three months by Harden and his teammates.
Above all, the start was bad to say the least, also conditioned by the many injuries that hit the Texan team, and in particular Motiejunas, the absence of the Lithuanian who becomes even more important when Howard isn't even under the gun, with Superman author of a fairly regular season, but often grappling with some usual physical discomfort. In the last period, the Rockets have resumed a march that is certainly more suited to their objectives, but they struggle to convince completely and also the game often leaves much to be desired, Harden remaining too dependent (not that it's a bad thing eh), with "the beard” also a great protagonist of this season and who so far has an average of 28 points per game.
