1. Golden State Warriors
No surprises here. Quite possibly the greatest team ever assembled got greater this season with the addition of top 5 center DeMarcus Cousins. Although having not played throughout most of the season’s first half Boogie Cousins has had an immense impact on the defensive game of this basketball juggernaut.
With him as the 5th starter, it makes the Golden State Warriors the one and only team in the league with an entire starting lineup composed of NBA All-Stars. Not to mention a combined total of 3 MVP awards, 24 All-NBA nominations, and of course the 3 championships the team has won in the past 4 years.
Stephen Curry has been having another remarkable season averaging right under 28 points a game and 5 assists. With Cousins and Curry alongside arguably the second best player in the league in Kevin Durant. There really is almost no stopping the 2-time defending champs from making their way to a threepeat.
Every team in the West deserves to be in the playoffs this season there is no doubt about that, but when it comes to the seeding of each is where things start to get a little controversial. Regular season record isn’t everything and once the first round commences it doesn’t matter much anymore.
All in all, it’s all about matching up well with your opponent and your playoff experience the past few seasons. With a little over a week to go it’ll be very interesting to see if any team has what it takes to dethrone the mighty Warriors.