2011 WESTERN CONFERENCE MID-SEASON REVIEW

1.  San Antonio Spurs...37-7

2.  Los Angeles Lakers...32-13

3.  Oklahoma City Thunder...28-15

4.  Dallas Mavericks...28-15

5.  New Orleans Hornets...29-16

6.  Utah Jazz...27-17

7.  Denver Nuggets...24-18

8.  Portland Trailblazers...25-20

The Conference know for years as "The Wild West", in my opinion may have lost some of it's star fire power this season compared to the often talked about Eastern Conference.  On the other hand, maybe it only seems that way since we are not used to seeing Eastern Conference teams dominate the headlines with such force.  It could also be that "The Wild West" is still intact and it's the "shiny and new East" that has simply caught up to the West, and all the excitement has us forgetting that 7 of the last NBA Champions were from the west, 4 for the Lakers and 3 for the Spurs.  Only time will tell if the times are actually changing or if I like many, are falling victim to the "shiny and new East" hype.

Top 3: Spurs, Lakers and Thunder

It's no coincidence that the Spurs and Lakers sit at the top of the Western standings considering the stat above regarding championships.  These 2 teams have had Hall of Fame coaching by the hands of Greg Popovich and Phil Jackson throughout their dominance of the West.  Along with great coaching, both the Spurs and Lakers have managed to keep their core players from leaving to other teams via free agency or trades.  Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker who play what some consider boring basketball, could care less what people think.  Their defense and text book offense is something that opponents still can't seem to overcome, even though they have been doing the same thing for years.

In the case of the Lakers, their future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant, continues to be the driving force behind Phil  Jackson's mentoring.  The addition of Pau Gasol a few years ago is what, in my opinion, brought back the Lakers back to dominance.  Kobe had been making trade demands unless something was done to improve the team, and ownership responded.  Management didn't stop at the acquisition of Gasol, they jumped on the chance to acquire defensive muscle in Ron Artetst from the Houston Rockets in a swap for Trevor Arizia.  The result, another championship for the Lakers.  With Derick Fisher and Lamar Odom still with the team and Andrew Bynum now on board, the Lakers are once again playoff bound and favorites for the title, again.

The 3rd place Oklahoma City Thunder is by far the biggest story in the west, but in no way a surprise.  The Oklahoma City Thunder put fear into the Lakers while losing 4-2 in a best of 7 playoff series last year.  With Kevin Durant and a much more confident Russell Westbrook leading a young, fast paced, defensive minded team, there was no doubt that they would end the season in a higher ranking than their 8th spot last year.  Seeing as how the Thunder are relatively new to the NBA, I encourage any fan to take the time to watch a few games or even some highlights from this team.  They are simply amazing to watch.  The fan base is also one of the best in the league.  Aside from nearly every game being sold out, rituals such as not sitting until the Thunder's first basket of the game, shows the fun, support and dedication the fans feel toward their team.

No disrespect to the Mavericks, Hornets, Jazz, Nuggets and Portland, but the truth of the matter is that besides Dallas and Utah, the listed teams hold a very slim chance of getting to the Western Conference Finals.  Hornets shot out of the gate with an amazing start to the season, but the team as whole would have a difficult time taking out any of the top 3 teams in a 7 game series. The Nuggets have been distracted all year with Carmelo Anthony trade rumors, and as fun as they are to watch, the depth from their bench leaves much to be desired.  Lastly, the injured roster of  the Portland Trailblazers  will simply run out of gas come playoff time, if they manage to maintain the final 8th spot.