NBA Western Conference tier rankings: Chasing the Golden State Warriors

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CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 13: Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls knocks the ball away from Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center on December 13, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Tier 4

7. Minnesota Timberwolves

8. Utah Jazz

9. Portland Trail Blazers

10. Los Angeles Clippers

These four teams all have a shot of making the playoffs. The Timberwolves will be much improved with the addition of Jimmy Butler, but he makes Andrew Wiggins basically useless. Wiggins is a less efficient Butler offensively and the anti-Butler defensively. They have been given a lot of hype this offseason, but people are going overboard.

The Jazz lost Gordon Hayward, but they still have a lot of talent. Look for Rodney Hood to potentially win the Most Improved Player Award.

The Trail Blazers are a great offensive team, but their defense might keep them out of the playoffs. Jusuf Nurkic should help protect the paint in theory, but he has a tendency to be lazy and shut down emotionally when things aren’t going his way.

The Clippers lost Chris Paul and will probably miss the playoffs. They decided to add a power forward in Danilo Gallinari to a team with a star power forward in Blake Griffin. Gallo used to be a great small forward, but he isn’t the same player post-ACL injury. This was a terrible move by G.M. Doc Rivers (which is a role that he’s been stripped of, unfortunately too late for the Clippers).

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