Western Conference Preview

  


            Written By: Spencer Teman, of Swish Tribune

            The Play-In starts tonight and the stakes are very high. The Western Conference has been neck and neck all year long and finally we get to see the best of the best battle it out in the bloodbath of the West. 

            Tonight, the first play-in game for the West showcases the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers got hot at the right time during the regular season as they made it all the way up to the #7 seed, even with a rough first half of the season.

            The Timberwolves are all over the place right now with the whole Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson situation, on the other hand, the Lakers are very hot right now so you can see why I am going to take the Lakers in this one. I will never understand why the Timberwolves would give up that many assets this offseason for Rudy Gobert when he can't even play in the biggest game of their season thus far. 

            The Lakers will go on to face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round in a matchup that could definitely be an upset with the Lakers taking that series. The Grizzlies are very banged up and to me are an overrated team. The Lakers could shock some people, but if they don't take the series, expect it to go to at least 6 or 7 games.

            The second Play-In game takes place between the Thunder and the Pelicans. The Thunder are the youngest team in the league with their average age just under 23 years old. No one on their team really has any playoff experience, so I'm going to take the Pelicans in this one. The Pelicans will face the Timberwolves in the second play-in matchup.

            The Timberwolves will have Gobert back, so I expect them to capitalize off that and eliminate the Pelicans on their way to a first-round matchup with the Nuggets. The Nuggets and the Wolves both have a lot of star power but at the end of the day, the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, who is going for his third consecutive MVP. Jokic and KAT will display a fun matchup, but I don't see any 8 seeds taking down any 1 seeds this year.

            The next matchup is the #4 seeded Suns taking on the #5 seeded Clippers. The Clippers are an old team that is not healthy right now and are not expecting to have Paul George this series. We will see the newest big 3 in the league in KD, Booker, and CP3 on the Suns for the first time in the Playoffs. I think the Suns take this series easily and, in the offseason, I think it's time to blow up this Clippers team, move on and try something new out.

            Finally, to my favorite series on the Western Conference side, the Warriors and the Kings. To me, I think it is unfair that one of these teams will not be competing in the second round. They are both such fun and great teams to watch with the Kings finally making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and a half and the Warriors, are just the Warriors and can get hot at any time, as they are defending champs.

            It is going to be an uphill battle for the Kings to try and stop this Warriors team, as no one has an easy time trying to chase down the Dubs. As a coach, Steve Kerr has never lost to a Western Conference team in the Playoffs, and I don't think this trend will change. I hope this series gets to at least 6 or 7 games but in the end, the Warriors will take it.

            The Play-In starts tonight and the Playoffs are right around the corner. The Western Conference is showing some promising matchups, and each will be exciting in their own way, as we move deeper into the Playoffs.

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