The Wild Wild West

Of the 15 teams in the NBA’s Western Conference, 10 teams have a winning percentage over .500 (as opposed to five in the Eastern Conference). This year is shaping up to be the best ever with a 50-win team potentially not qualifying for the playoffs.

The tenth seed is Portland, a good team, with a 29-25 record. While they got off to a good start and have a collection of young, talented players, they will have to wait until next year – with the addition of Greg Oden – to compete for a playoff spot.

The playoffs will come down to nine teams fighting for eight seeds and playoff positioning. Here is a look at the top teams by record and their latest moves.

1) New Orleans – Best record in the West and added Bonzi Wells for playoff experience and depth. Good young team but will be facing tremendous pressure down the stretch. They might get overtaken by San Antonio which would lead to an even more difficult first-round matchup. Their lack of experience might cost them this year but as a young team they look like they could be threat for several years.

2) Los Angeles – The addition of Pao Gasol shifted the balance of power in the West. LA got an all-star big man and lost none of its key contributors in the process. Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar, along with the other roll players, surround Kobe Bryant, the League’s best player, with a solid cast that could be enough to get the Finals and might keep Kobe in LA past this season. The only question is how will the team perform in their first playoffs together.

3) Phoenix – The Suns added Shaquille O’neal but lost Shawn Marion, their best defender. While Amare Stoudemire benefits greatly from Shaq’s presence, the Suns are still too weak defensively to win four playoff series.

4) San Antonio – Aging defending champs. The addition of Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire will help take pressure off the Big Three (Duncan, Ginobli and Parker) in the playoffs. The champs are tough to beat four times, and therefore hard to bet against.

5) Utah – Solid. Solid. Solid. The addition of Kyle Korver has paid huge dividends and the team is as complete as any and had a nice playoff run to build on last year. Nobody wants to face the Jazz in this year’s playoffs.

6) Dallas – Added Jason Kidd (leadership, toughness and rebounds) but lost size and depth. Even with Kidd, Dallas does not have enough to get over the hump in this year’s Western Conference playoffs.

7) Houston – Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming present two matchup problems. Luis Scola’s emergence has helped propel this team back into the playoffs. This tough defensive team might finally get out of the first rounds but don’t look for them to go much further.

8) Denver – Very talented team but does not play enough defense to advance far in the playoffs. The Nuggets made no moves before the trade deadline, and thus are the biggest wild card. They could be one and done, win a series or might not even qualify for the playoffs.

9) Golden State – The Warriors had a magical playoff run last year and are a dangerous offensive juggernaut. This team may not make the playoffs (currently one game out) but could present a difficult matchup in the first round (ask Dallas).