With less than two weeks to go in the regular season things still remain to close to call in the West. The Los Angeles Lakers are on top and should be the number one seed in the upcoming playoffs. They have a record of 54-21 and a five game lead over red hot Phoenix (49-26) in the Pacific division. Their lead in the conference is 4 ½ games over Dallas and Utah. The Mavericks lead San Antonio in the Southwest by four games. In the Northwest division, the Jazz (50-26), who have won eight out of their last 10 games, leads Denver by a game with Oklahoma City just three back. There are 10 teams in the West with a winning record and Portland is currently in the 8th spot at 46-30. Here is a brief look at my power rankings for the top three teams in the West.
Los Angeles Lakers (54-21) Current Odds to Win the NBA Championship: 7/5
The Lakers had their lowest scoring game of the season in a 75-91 loss to the Thunder last Friday night. Behind Pau Gasol’s 30 points they beat the Rockets 109-101. In their next game Kobe Bryant scored 31 but it was not enough in a 100-108 loss to the Hornets. Wednesday night they fell behind by 10 to the Hawks at the half and went on to lose their second straight 92-109. Through 75 games Bryant leads in points per game with 27.2 and assists with 5.1. Gasol is the leading rebounder with 11.1. Next up for the Lakers are the Jazz tonight and the Spurs on Sunday at home, and then on the road to play the Nuggets on Thursday, April 8th.
Phoenix Suns (49-26) Current Odds to Win the NBA Championship: 30/1
Last Friday night the Suns blew out the Knicks 132-96 as six players scored in double figures. In a couple of book end 111-105 wins, they beat the Timberwolves on Sunday and the Bulls on Tuesday. They ran their winning streak to nine games with a 116-105 win over the Nets. Through 75 games Amar’e Stoudemire leads the team in points, averaging 22.8 per game and rebounds, averaging 8.9. Steve Nash leads in assists with 11.1 per game. Next up for the Suns are the Pistons tonight and the Bucks on Saturday on the road, and then back home to face the Spurs on Wednesday, April 7th.
Dallas Mavericks (50-26) Current Odds to Win the NBA Championship: 10/1
Last Saturday Rodrique Beaubois had a career night; scoring 40 points in a 111-90 win over the Warriors. They followed this up with a big 109-93 win over the Nuggets. In a 106-102 OT win over the Grizzlies, Jason Terry scored a team high 29 points off the bench and Dirk Nowitzki added 28 points. Last night they trailed the Magic by 16 points after three quarters on their way to an 82-97 loss. Through 76 games Nowitzki is the leading scorer, averaging 24.7 points per game and is averaging 7.6 rebounds as well. Since coming to the Mavs, Brendon Haywood has averaged 7.9 rebounds per game and Jason Kidd leads in assists with 9.2. Next up for the Mavericks are the Thunder at home on Saturday and the Grizzlies on the road on Wednesday, April 7th.
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