In measured music, the downbeat is the first impulse that can be heard in the beginning.
They are having their best season since the Stockton 2 Malone days and it has been an absolutely amazing season.
Then the injury bug plagued them and they haven’t found their way out of it yet.
So LeBron may need to step his game up earlier than usual this season, because he doesn’t get a 1st round tune-up against the Wizards or Pistons anymore.
Currently in 4th place, the Clippers have done quite well despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard for most of the last 11 games.
With a point differential of +6.0, I think they can safely be considered one of the favorites to come out of the West.
But Nikola Jokic is proving that he is the bonafide MVP of the league this year by carrying them to an 8-2 record in their last 10.
But should the be dismissed? Absolutely not, as seen by their win on the road against the Clippers just a few days ago.
After spending much of the last several years in the absolute basement of the Western Conference, the Suns now find themselves in the drivers seat to finish 1st.
Their end-of-season schedule has some tough matchups, so watching the race between the Suns and Jazz will be fun! I don’t think we’ll see the usual finish where the top teams start resting their guys for the playoffs.
With Donovan Mitchell missing the last 9 games and Conley the last 4, the Jazz have played a ton of minutes without 2 of their starters.
But I also want them to get some momentum back individually and for the team heading into what is hopefully a deep playoff run this year.