NBA: Grading would-be playoff teams in the Western Conference

With the NBA season on standby, let’s take a look back at how the would-be Western Conference playoff teams have performed this season

With the NBA season currently in a hiatus and now potentially canceled, it gives us a time to look back at what the season has given us so far. The Western Conference has been the cream of the crop in recent memory and this year may be no different. With that being said, there is a lot left to be desired with the current situation of the NBA, specifically the Western Conference.

We might not have a chance to see who would win the battle of LA in the West between the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers. We may never know if this is the year that the Houston Rockets finally breakthrough with the juggernaut Golden State Warriors team no longer at their peak.

We’ll likely miss out on Luka Doncic and his first playoff appearance with the Dallas Mavericks alongside Kristaps Porzingis. We will miss the exciting Rookie of the Year battle between Ja Morant and Zion Williamson (which Morant should win), as they fight for the final playoff spot.

All of this being said, there have still been many games played this season and enough for us to grade the seasons of each individual playoff team as of today. There are so many “what-ifs” that may not be answered but what we do know is how these teams have performed up to this point. The grades the teams receive are not to be compared to each other, but to be compared to the expectations and performance so far from the individual team itself.