2020-21 Western Conference Standings Predictions
After the dust from the offseason has settled, the Western Conference is as competitive as ever. Some teams made big leaps, while others took a step back. Today I will be giving my full predictions for the Western Conference, choosing which teams are going to the playoffs, and which teams are not.
1. LA Lakers (52-20)
2. LA Clippers (49-23)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (47-25)
4. Denver Nuggets (45-27)
5. Dallas Mavericks (44-28)
6. Utah Jazz (43-29)
7. New Orleans Pelicans (40-32)
8. Phoenix Suns (38-34)
9. Golden State Warriors (35-37)
10. Houston Rockets (33-39)
11. Memphis Grizzlies (31-41)
12. Minnesota Timberwolves (30-42)
13. San Antonio Spurs (27-45)
14. Sacramento Kings (25-47)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-53)
#1 – LA Lakers (52-20)
Does it come to anybody’s surprise that the Lakers are the #1 seed? The Lakers added a lot of new pieces this offseason, and they are a completely different team from last season. They added Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol along with Wesley Matthews. But they lost two veteran guards and two veteran centers. I think that the Lakers will have to get adjusted to each other, mainly Lebron trying to incorporate everybody. The Lakers offense got a lot better, but their defense got a bit worse. I still see the Lakers as the best team in the West, and once they start to get going, it will be very tough to stop them. It’s just how long will it take them to really get going?
#2 – LA Clippers (49-23)
The Clippers flamed out of the playoffs last season, and that should have put a chip on their shoulders. They have a new coach in Ty Lue, and hopefully he can give the Clippers a real offensive system. Paul George was terrible last season in the playoffs, and he needs to play better for LA to succeed. Kawhi needs to stay healthier and play more during the regular season. LA added Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard, but “lost” Montrezl Harrell. Ibaka gives the Clippers some much needed rim-protection, and Luke Kennard is a solid scorer. “Losing” Harrell means that the scoring order is much more simplified, and there are less mouths to feed on offense. The Clippers will be good, improved from last season, hoping that they can win a title for the first time in franchise history.
#3 – Portland Trail Blazers (47-25)
Portland was plagued by injuries last season, and it was a miracle that they even made the 2020 NBA Playoffs, let alone win a game on the eventual champion LA Lakers. But the Blazers added a lot of solid pieces this offseason, making them one of the better teams in the West. They re-signed Carmelo Anthony and Rodney Hood, giving them some nice wings. Melo was excellent for Portland last season, and Hood was great before tearing his achilles. Portland traded for Robert Covington, giving them a stud on defense and a 3-point shooter. They also signed Derrick Jones Jr, giving them one of the best wing rotations in the league with Covington, Hood, Melo, and Jones Jr. Dame and CJ are spectacular, and Gary Trent is an excellent shooter off the bench. Jusuf Nurkic is a border-line All-Star when healthy, and Zach Collins is also solid off the bench. If Portland can stay healthy, they will return to being a top seed in the Western Conference.
#4 – Denver Nuggets (45-27)
The Nuggets did get worse this offseason, but they are still pretty solid. Losing Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee does hurt their depth, and losing Grant hurts their limited resources on defense. Now their only defense against Kawhi and Lebron is the raw Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets have a rising star in Murray and the best center in the league in Nikola Jokic. But they are going to need more from Harris, Millsap, and especially Porter Jr. just to remain at the top of the West. The Nuggets likely won’t be making another conference finals because their defense just isn’t good enough to contend with the rest of the Western Conference.
#5 – Dallas Mavericks (44-28)
Luka Doncic proved last season that he is the future of the league, so expect this Mavs team to be pretty good. The Mavericks got 3 solid rookies that should help their depth. They signed another shot-creator in Josh Richardson and re-signed Trey Burke. Kristaps Porzingis will miss time with that knee injury, so the Mavs better hope he finds his form again. The key is that Porzingis stays healthy, because this Mavs team can be very good. I like their additions this offseason, but they are still very young. In a few years, they will be at the forefront of the Western Conference.
#6 – Utah Jazz (43-29)
The Jazz are essentially the same team from last season, which isn’t a great thing. They didn’t have a great draft, and only had the money to get Derrick Favors back from New Orleans. The Jazz are going to have to rely heavily upon their starting 5 again. Conley, Mitchell, Bogdanovic, O’Neale, and Gobert are going to have to carry this team as they don’t have crazy good depth. Jordan Clarkson is above average, but the rest of the Jazz bench isn’t great. Mike Conley needs to play better, and with a healthy Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz will still be solid, but not contending.
#7 – New Orleans Pelicans (40-32)
I expect big things from the Pelicans this season. They have an All-Star in Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and a future superstar in Zion Williamson. Hopefully Williamson lost some weight this offseason, so that he can stay healthier and help this team take the next step. Losing Jrue Holiday does hurt, but Eric Bledsoe isn’t terrible. This team is really balanced, and I like the direction that they are headed. They have a good coach in Stan Van Gundy, so expect big things from New Orleans this season.
#8 – Phoenix Suns (38-34)
With the addition of CP-3, I see the Suns as a contending team in the West. Devin Booker is a stud, and now he has a competent team around him. Deandre Ayton is a double-double man down low, and should work well with Chris Paul. Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson are solid options at the wings, and Dario Saric will also be solid off the bench. They did lose Aaron Baynes, meaning they lose some size, so they’ll need some things out of rookie Jalen Smith from Maryland. I think that CP-3 showed that he can do with solid parts in OKC last season, and I expect similar things in the desert.
#9 – Golden State Warriors (35-37)
WHAT! The Warriors missing the playoffs? Ok, just hear me out. The Warriors are better than last season, but they still have a lot of flaws. James Wiseman is talented, but he cannot stop AD down low, or Jokic. Losing Klay Thompson for the year stings, and while Kelly Oubre is a solid replacement, he doesn’t mesh as well with Steph Curry as Thompson does. What Draymond Green are we getting? 2016 Draymond, or 2020 Draymond? We’ll have to see. The Warriors don’t have incredible depth, and the things that are off the bench are young rookies like Nico Mannion. Eric Paschall is decent but undersized. The Warriors are a weirdly assembled group, and I don’t see them as a playoff team.
#10 – Houston Rockets (33-39)
The Rockets are in a very weird spot. They traded away Robert Covington and Russell Westbrook, looking like they wanted to rebuild. But Harden hasn’t been traded yet and it seems that they don’t want to trade him. They also lost Austin Rivers and Jeff Green. They have a new, unproven coach in Stephen Silas. James Harden doesn’t seem very happy in Houston, and it seems like this season might end in disaster for the Rockets. They added John Wall, who hasn’t played in 2 years. And they also added DeMarcus Cousins, a guy who has also been plagued with injuries. Christian Wood was their best pickup of the offseason, but it doesn’t do much to help them. I don’t view Houston’s roster as a playoff team as it’s Harden and everybody else.
#11 – Memphis Grizzlies (31-41)
While the Grizzlies nearly made the playoffs last season, I don’t think they’ll do the same this season. Ja Morant is very talented already, and we’ll see how much better he got over the offseason. They will start the season without Jaren Jackson Jr, their 2nd best player. They will also be without rotation player Justice Winslow. They added Desmond Bane, a great shooter from TCU with the 30th pick in the draft. But the Grizzlies are just a really young team, and I don’t think they are ready to contend with all the best teams in the West. They’ll start the season without their 2nd best player, and their roster isn’t as talented as others in the West. I doubt that the Grizzlies can replicate what they did last season.
#12 – Minnesota Timberwolves (30-42)
The Timberwolves made a lot of moves this offseason, transforming their team. They got Anthony Edwards with the #1 overall pick in the draft. Edwards will work nicely with the duo of Towns and Russell. They also got Leandro Bolmaro with the 23rd pick in the draft, but he’ll be staying overseas. They traded for Ricky Rubio and got Jaden McDaniels with the 28th pick in the process. And they managed to re-sign Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez. This team is a solid team on paper. It’s just that they might not mesh well immediately. Edwards might struggle due to his inexperience, and it’ll just take more time for all of them to get adjusted to each other. But this is the one team where they can sneak into the playoffs if things go right.
#13 – San Antonio Spurs (27-45)
The Spurs have been a decent team the last few seasons, but they should be looking for a rebuild soon. DeMar DeRozan is solid, but his game isn’t well suited for the modern NBA. DeRozan is 31 years old, and is soon to be starting the twilight of his career. LaMarcus Aldridge is 35 years old and his production has been slipping the past few years. And the Spurs have an oddball of players around those two. Patty Mills, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl, Drew Eubanks, Rudy Gay. This team doesn’t have any explosive talent and they don’t have the same star power like other teams in the West, and that’s why they will ultimately struggle.
#14 – Sacramento Kings (25-47)
The Kings had a very, very weird offseason. They drafted very well as they got two solid role-players in the draft. But then they had the whole Bogdan Bogdanovic situation. Bogdanovic had been traded to Milwaukee, but the trade never went through. Then the Hawks offered a deal to the Kings involving a first round pick, which they declined. Then they never even matched Bogdanovic’s deal to the Hawks, losing him for nothing. Excellent job Sacramento. Buddy Hield is unhappy with the situation, and even though he is a likely starter for this team, I still don’t think he’s happy. Marvin Bagley has to stay healthy in order for him to grow. The Kings don’t have any good defenders, and Luke Walton isn’t a good coach. The Kings were heading in the right direction a couple of years ago, but now they are headed back towards the bottom of the Western Conference.
#15 – OKC Thunder (19-53)
This one comes at no surprise. The Thunder dealt everybody. CP-3, Gallinari, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder and Terrence Ferguson are all gone from last season. They traded guys like Danny Green and Kelly Oubre Jr as soon as they acquired them. The Thunder team is a lot of youth, and they are clearly rebuilding. The best player on the team is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and there is a lot of unproven talent everywhere else on the roster. The Thunder have a million first round picks, so their rebuild should go smoothly over the next few years.
This is year it’s very hard to do win totals due to Covid-19. A team could get Covid stricken for a few weeks and lose a lot of games. This standings are if all teams remain relatively healthy, which unfortunately is unlikely to happen. With all the uncertainty, these standings will likely not be 100% accurate. But these are my final Western Conference Standings Predictions. I predict teams like Portland, New Orleans, and Phoenix to take big steps forward from last season, and teams like Golden State and Houston to not make the playoffs.
What Would You Change About These Standings? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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