NBA: Predicting how the Western Conference playoff race will play out

Predicting how the 2019 NBA Playoff picture will play out in the Western Conference, as the Lakers, Kings and Clippers battle for the final spot

The Western Conference is as stacked as it’s ever been in recent years. At one point this season, 14 out of the 15 teams seemed to have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs (sorry, Phoenix Suns).

Now teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks have all seemingly dropped out of the race, leaving 11 teams to fight it out for the eight playoff spots available.

The Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder all seem to be locked into the top three spots. The Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets look to be playoff locks as well, meaning there are three spots left between the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

With less than two months remaining in the 2018-19 NBA regular season, we try and predict how the Western Conference playoff picture will play out. Let’s start off by looking at who is most likely to fall out of the playoff race.