NBA Tickets - The Halfway Point: A Look at the Western Conference

The NBA season as about half over for most teams and it looks like it's a nine-team race in the Western Conference. As of January 21st, the Lakers have a solid hold on the number one seed, followed by San Antonio, Denver, New Orleans, Houston, Portland, Utah and Phoenix, in that order. Dallas is the odd team out right now, though they're just percentage points out of the final spot. Here is how I think things will end up in the Western Conference by the end of the year. (Note: All statistics are as of January 21st)

1. Los Angeles Lakers: They're on a tier of their own in the Western Conference. Not only do they sell the most NBA tickets, but they've got the best player, best coach and deepest roster in the conference. Barring an injury to Kobe Bryant, the Lakers should coast to the top seed.

2. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs went through a period this season where they were without both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and still kept their heads above water. This gave valuable experience to guys like George Hill, which will undoubtedly come in handy during the stretch run and in the playoffs. Roger Mason Jr. seems to be taking over the Robert Horry role as the guy who hits big shots. Big Shot Rog anyone?

3. New Orleans Hornets: It's becoming increasingly obvious that Chris Paul makes this team so much better than it should be. Still, he's good enough to carry the Hornets to a three seed. There have been some rumblings that Byron Scott is losing the locker room, but there's no chance that CP3 loses the respect and support of his teammates.

4. Utah Jazz: The Jazz have had trouble with injuries, first with Deron Williams, then with Carlos Boozer. Boozer's injury, though, thrust Paul Millsap into the starting lineup and showed that he's a stud. Andre Kirilenko is thriving in his role coming off the bench and this team should make a push in the second half of the season.

5. Phoenix Suns: Terry Porter has loosened his grip on this bunch a bit and is letting them run around some. The Suns are just better when playing up-tempo and Porter realizes this. Shaq is playing better than he has for a few seasons, thanks in part to getting rest on the tail end of back-to-backs. The acquisition of Jason Richardson gives this team four really good players (Shaq, Richardson, Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash) to work with.

6. Portland Trail Blazers: Look for Oden to really come on in the second half, becoming more aggressive on the offensive end and the glass. He'll learn how to stay out of foul trouble and start earning 30+ minutes per game. He, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge make for quite the trio.

7. Houston Rockets: McGrady is clearly not the guy we remember, even when he's healthy. He may be shipped before the trade deadline, but my guess is that he stays put and steps it up in the second half. Yao, however, always find a way to get injured in the second half, so you can't expect too much from this team until he proves that he can stay healthy.

8. Dallas Mavericks: Dirk is having a good season and this team will do just enough to make the postseason. It'll be close, but a late season collapse by the Nuggets should give it to Dallas.

Seed Newsvine

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