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This year's Western Conference is one that will be highly competitive. There will be multiple teams who have a legitimate shot to win a championship, and there will even be a few more if some get healthy before the playoffs.
Whether it be the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, or someone else, the Western Conference playoffs are going to be highly competitive. Factor in the Dallas Mavs, Denver Nuggets, and others; it's going to be an insane playoff.
The Western Conference playoffs are going to be exciting, and we're going to see some surprises that no one predicted.
There should be three favorites in the Western Conference right now. Golden State, Phoenix, and Memphis have all proven that they are the three best teams in the West, and saying otherwise right now would be crazy. Then we have to factor in the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets(assuming they're healthy), and the Los Angeles Clippers(if they can get one of their two stars in Kawhi Leonard or Paul George back for the playoffs).
Let's take a look and rank the three-six favorites to come out of the Western Conference. Although these teams might not be as good as the other three favorites in the Warriors, Suns, and Grizzlies, they can still win an NBA title because they are right there with them in terms of talent when healthy.
Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done. Matchups are always something that is going to play a major factor, and some teams just know how to get the job done against certain teams when it matters most.
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The Second Tier Of Western Conference Contenders, Ranked
3. Nuggets
Without their second and third-best players, the Denver Nuggets must be pleased with what they've accomplished in the first half of the season and the start of the second half of the season.
Despite missing Jamal Murray for the whole year and Michael Porter Jr for the majority of the season, the Nuggets have been able to find ways to win games. Both Murray and Porter Jr. are anticipated to return to the Nuggets in the near future, bolstering their chances of winning an NBA championship alongside Nikola Jokic, arguably the league's best player.
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If healthy, do they have enough to beat the Suns and Warriors? One hundred percent
2. Clippers
If the Clippers can get healthy, good luck to the rest of the NBA.
There's no denying that if this Clippers team is fully healthy, they will be a team capable of not only challenging other Western Conference teams, but also capable of winning an NBA title. They have a plethora of high-scoring players on their roster, and their role players are stacked with elite 3 and D guys.
Both of their stars are said to be unlikely to return this year, but there have been conflicting stories on whether or not they will, so fingers crossed for Los Angeles.
The Clippers have perhaps the best roster in the NBA if they are healthy. If they can maintain this group together for next season, they will be the clear favorites to win the championship.
1. Jazz
With all of the success the Utah Jazz has had in recent seasons, it would be difficult for them to not win again in the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Utah, this will most likely be the toughest season to get out of the Western Conference in recent memory. They'll have to contend with the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors.
Donovan Mitchell will need to be great for Utah, and there is no reason to assume he won't be. Mitchell is without a doubt a top-tier player. We can even argue that he is the NBA's best point guard. He's not to blame for the Utah Jazz's recent playoff failures, as he consistently performs well in postseason games.
In order for the Utah Jazz to have a chance of succeeding, they'll need Donovan Mitchell to outperform players like Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James if he wants to be successful.
The Utah Jazz will also have to rely on their role players to step up for once.
