NBA: Mid-season playoff seeding predictions for the East and West

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Memphis Grizzlies Ja Morant (Joe Rondone-USA TODAY Sports) /

Western Conference

1. Memphis Grizzlies

Could this finally be the year of the Memphis Grizzlies? With as wide open as the Western Conference appears to be, it could. There’s not one dominant team in the conference and, believe it or not, the Grizzlies may be the team that is considered to be the best from top to bottom – especially with how inconsistent the defending champion Golden State Warriors have been.

This Grizzlies team continues to get better and could be an NBA Trade Deadline move away from supplanting themselves as the best team in the conference heading into postseason play. As long as Ja Morant remains healthy, this team is going to be a problem in the playoffs.

I predict that the Grizzlies will finish as the top seed in the Western Conference. Whether or not that means they’ll come out of the West and make the NBA Finals is an entirely different story or question.