Predicting every teams Final Record for the Western Conference

Oklahoma City Thunder (65-17)
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been nothing short of fantastic this season and have an MVP candidate in Shai-Gilgeous Alexander who has been amazing this year. I expect a lot out of this team this year because of their defensive output they’ve showcased this year. They’re first in defensive rating and they’re also first in net rating.
Ceiling: NBA Champions
Floor: Western Conference Finals appearance

Denver Nuggets (58-24)
The Denver Nuggets have been an absolute juggernaut of an offense when Nikola Jokic is on the floor. Jokic is having his best season of his career and if we were able to have a co-mvp it would definitely go to him and SGA. They’re third in Offensive rating and 6th in net rating in the NBA. But, this is a team that has struggled immensely when Jokic is off the floor. When Jokic is off the floor they are 22nd in Net rating. That can be a huge struggle for them going into the playoffs.
Ceiling: NBA Finals appearance
Floor: 2nd Round Exits

Memphis Grizzlies (55-27)
The Memphis Grizzlies this year have been a dark horse this year despite being the 2nd seed as of right now in the west. Led by Jaren Jackson Jr. this year who has showcased a leap in his offensive game and his outstanding defense the Grizzlies look dangerous this year. Their only problem this year has been their health and depth. With the likes of a Scotty Pippen Jr. and a rookie Jaylen Wells how do we know that they can be trusted come playoff time. Only time will tell.
Ceiling: Western Conference Finals appearance
Floor: 1st Round Exits

Los Angeles Lakers (52-30)
After the most historic trade in NBA history the Lakers have added one of the greatest young players we’ve ever seen in Luka Doncic. Luka Doncic just led his team to the NBA Finals last year and now is paired up with one of the league's greatest players of all time in Lebron James. The Los Angeles Lakers have played great in January and February after a rocky December. The Lakers’ main issue this year coming into the playoffs will be their rim protection and rebounding considering that their center rotation will be Jaxon Hayes and Alex Len. That will not cut it during playoff time. But considering they have two of the best playoff performers ever, only time will tell if that can overshadow their weaknesses.
Ceiling: Western Conference Finals appearance
Floor: 1st Round Exits

Houston Rockets: (50-32)
One of the more physically imposing teams in the NBA the Houston Rockets are a very scary team this year. They’re 4th in defensive rating in the NBA however they’re 14th in offensive rating. However come playoff time this is when everything slows down and that is exactly how the Houston Rockets play. They play team basketball as they are a very well balanced team with 7 players averaging above 10 ppg and 4 players averaging above 5 rebounds per game. This team can be a problem come playoff time if they can implement their game plan first.
Ceiling: Western Conference Finals appearance
Floor: 2nd Round Exits

Los Angeles Clippers (48-34)
The Los Angeles Clippers are always in the race for a championship IF they’re healthy. The Clippers this year have been a very well coached team and have prided themselves on the defensive end this year as Kawhi Leonard is ramping up from his knee injury. Kawhi Leonard has looked a step slower this year as to be expected due to how brutal knee recovery can be. However James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Norman Powell have been holding it down this year as they’re all having a great year. Kawhi Leonard has only played 4 games in the last two years that they’ve been in the playoffs this year and both being due to his knee. So, let's just say that Kawhi Leonard is going to be healthy into the postseason. If that is true the Clippers can be a dark horse this postseason.
Ceiling: 2nd Round appearance
Floor: 1st Round Exits

Minnesota Timberwolves (45-37)
After one of the more confusing off season trades in recent memory the Timberwolves gave up a top 5 big man in Karl Anthony-Towns for an underperforming Julius Randle this year. However I think that they made this trade because they believed that Anthony Edwards would take another leap somehow this year but that has not been the case so far. They’ve also showcased moments this year where they come out with almost no energy, chemistry, and have shown multiple instances where their team looks disconnected off the floor which is actually a huge issue.
Ceiling: Push the Nuggets to 6 games
Floor: Get swept inside the 1st Round

Dallas Mavericks (43-39)
After the acquisition of Anthony Davis the Dallas Mavericks could be a very scary team. However their center rotations are all out which includes Daniel Gafford, Derek Lively, and of course Anthony Davis. Due to this I think that they will drop a lot of games over the next month or so as Anthony Davis (their best player) will be out, their defense won’t be there and teams will be able to game plan against a Dallas team who will probably try to run their offense purely through Kyrie Irving. However if they can be healthy going into the playoffs this year the Dallas Mavericks can make a lot of noise this year.
Ceiling: 2nd Round appearance
Floor: 1st Round Exits

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