So with the season literally only weeks away from being over I am going
to take a look at where I think the top 2 seeds in the Western Conference are
going to finish and which of 4 teams I think is likely to make a late run and
ending up landing the 8 spot. Finally I will look at the potential 1st
round match-up for the Warriors no matter what seed they finish at. So let’s begin
with the current 1 and 2 seeds and where they will land…
Current #1 Seed
Golden State Warriors (46-11, 24-2 HM, 22-9 RD, and 27-7 CNF): The Warriors
have been hot all season including a 18 Game winning streak early. Can they
continue their hot ways and ride into the playoffs as a 60+ win team? I don’t know
I think the team may cap out at about 59 wins. They have been struggling with
teams as of late and playing sloppy at times. Bottom-line though I think that
the Dubs will finish strong and fend off the Grizzlies and keep the top spot…
Finish: #1 Seed
in the playoffs with Home Court advantage throughout…
Current #2 Seed Memphis
Grizzlies (42-16, 23-6 HM, 19-10 RD, and 26-11 CNF): The Grizzlies are a
team with 2 faces the reason why I say this is because of the stats. At home
they are a beast amassing a 23-6 record on their home court. Away from Memphis
they are 19-10 which tells me that they struggle a bit with teams away from
home. The Warriors can say the same thing but to a less drastic extent. The
Grizzlies are a strong candidate to overtake the Warriors should they slide.
But I just don’t think that the Warriors are going to Slide…
Finish: #2 Seed in the Playoffs with Home Court
advantage throughout…
Now for the infamous 8 seed as
it stands there are 4 teams that are viable to end up in the 8 seed. The Spurs
if the slide and OKC surges at the right time. The current holder the Thunder
if they stay put with the Pelicans (1/2GB) and Suns (1 1/2GB) hot on their tail.
Now we take a look at who will most likely go home with the 8 seed…
Current #8 Seed
Oklahoma City Thunder (32-27, 19-8 HM, 13-19 RD, and 18-19 CNF): The
Thunder have been without their All Star forward Kevin Durant for a couple of
weeks now. It looks like they are going to be without him for a couple of more.
Their star PG Russell Westbrook just went ballistic during the month of February.
But he will start March on the disabled list as he is out with a fractured bone
in his face. Even with all of this I still think that the Thunder can end up
the 8 seed they will do enough to keep winning and hope that they have a
healthy team for the matchup against Golden State in the 1st round…
Finish: In 8 Seed and facing GS in the 1st
Round…
Current #9 Seed New Orleans Pelicans (31-27,
20-10 HM, 11-17 RD, and 19-14 CNF): The Pelicans were another team with a
lot of promise for this season. For the most part they lived up to that promise
as early on they were considered one of the top 6 teams in the league and a
lock for the playoffs. All of that changed when their big guy Anthony Davis
went down that changed a lot of things. So without the big man for a
significant amount of time the Pelicans will be unable to sneak in and grab
that 8 spot away from the Thunder. They may even slip a spot to number 10…
Finish: In 10 seed and out of the playoffs…
Current #10 Seed
Phoenix Suns (31-29, 17-13 HM, 14-16 RD, and 16-21 CNF): Finally it comes
down to the Suns who have seemed to get better by the “addition by subtraction”
method. They relieved themselves of the ego that was Goran Dragic and didn’t really
get much to help now for him. But I think that this team will gel late and make
a run at the 8 seed but alas the highest I see them climbing is the 9 seed just
above the Pelicans…
Finish: In 9 seed and out of the playoffs…
If you want to listen
to the Double K’s Classrrom show on the 4ACES network…
Every other Friday
nights at 8pm PST/ 11pm EST
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