Western conference power rankings
western conference power rankings
| Rank | Team | record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 46-11 |
| 2 | Denver Nuggets | 38-20 |
| 3 | Los Angelas Lakers | 34-21 |
| 4 | Memphis Grizzles | 37-20 |
| 5 | Houston Rockets | 35-22 |
| 6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 32-27 |
| 7 | Golden State Warriors | 30-27 |
| 8 | Los Angelas Clippers | 31-26 |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | 29-28 |
| 10 | Dallas Mavericks | 31-27 |
| 11 | Pheonix Suns | 27-30 |
| 12 | Portland Trail Blazers | 25-33 |
| 13 | San Antonio Spurs | 24-31 |
| 14 | New Orleans Pelicans | 14-43 |
| 15 | Utah Jazz | 14-43 |
explaining my rankings
As with the rankings for the Eastern Conference, these rankings are how I view the conference right now. There are some surprises definitely.
Having OKC as number one is a no brainer. Best team in the Western Conference and arguably in the NBA as a whole. The Denver Nuggets are 18-5 since their loss to the Boston Celtics on January 7th. Clear number two in my opinion.
A little controversy next as I have the Lakers at three above the Grizzlies. The Lakers were on a roll even before the Luka trade. They won 8 out of 10 before they made the trade. Then they won three more games after the trade but Luka was still injured. They won the first game with Luka in the line-up. And after two inexplicable losses to Utah and Charlotte, the Lakers beat Portland and Denver and are currently up big against Dallas as I type this.
I dropped the Clippers in the rankings because I don’t think that they are as good as the T-Wolves or the Warriors. They do not have a good team. They have Kawhi but, for how long? They are managing his minutes but, can he make it through the playoffs? Harden can’t do it by himself. Conversely, both the Wolves and Warriors have good rosters. Especially after Golden State traded for Jimmy Butler.
Speaking of good rosters, I actually like the roster that Dallas has. Unfortunately, they just have too many injuries to key players. Derek Lively III, Daniel Gafford and Anthony Davis are all important to that team. Especially Davis since he was the most important player involved for Luka. Sacramento has the better roster as of right now, so they jump them in the rankings.
And finally, I have Portland ahead of San Antonio. Even without the injury to Wemby, I love the roster that SA has. But, Portland has actually played better and without Wemby, SA just doesn’t have it.
nfl draft combine
I am so excited! The NFL Draft Combine starts on Thursday and I’ll be watching and taking notes. A couple of opinions. Shadeur Sanders has decided to not participate in the combine. It makes sense for him to not participate. He is almost assured of being a top ten pick. More than likely top five. I am of the opinion that he will not be a good NFL QB. Certainly not worth a first round pick.
Word going around is that the Titans are fielding offers for the number one pick. If I was them, I would absolutely get teams in a bidding war. Especially QB needy teams. Some team is going to give up a haul to move to number one to perhaps take Cam Ward, the Miami Hurricane QB. The Titans should ride with Levis this year. If he has a good year and shows improvement; then you still have the potential of having a really good first round pick. Assuming that they get a Chicago Bears type trade. If Levis doesn’t show improvement, then you potentially have two top ten picks, just as Chicago did in 2024.