The NBA is back and the first weekend had plenty of great games and thankfully no positive COVID-19 tests. In the East Milwaukee and Toronto seem to be solid bets to meet in the conference finals, but the Celtics, Heat, or 76ers could have something to say about that. Outside of that, the East is not exactly deep. However, out west there are more deep and talented teams, some of which will miss the playoffs simply because only 8 teams will make it. However, with the Lakers and Clippers seemingly a cut above the rest of the conference, is a showdown between the 2 LA teams inevitable? Or can someone from the middle of the conference standings make a run at upsetting one of the West’s top 2 powerhouses?

Although the Suns, Kings, and Pelicans all have very good young pieces and showed moments of great play throughout the season, none of those 3 teams are ready for a serious playoff run yet. No disrespect meant but I’m not sure any of them will get in. The Mavericks, Grizzlies, Spurs, and Trailblazers are all one step above the first 3 teams I mentioned and all have legit shots at making the playoffs, in fact the Mavs have already clinched. However, these teams would be playing the Lakers or Clippers in the first round, and aside from the Blazers and the coaching the Spurs would get from Pop have very limited playoff experience. Stealing a game or 2 in the first round is by no means out of the question, but beyond that I just don’t see a deep run coming from this group either.

Some teams that are more interesting are the Nuggets, Jazz, and Thunder. These teams have all been very impressive this season and have established stars paired with young pieces, a recipe for playoff success. I would give these teams a solid 10-15% chance at least to upset the Lakers or the Clippers in a second round series. The Nuggets size and emergence of Bol Bol and Michael Porter Jr. could create matchup nightmares. The Jazz are stout defensively and the backcourt duo of Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell may finally be clicking. And Chris Paul is having a career year and is the type of veteran leader that the Thunder could rally around in these unprecedented playing conditions. However, I couldn’t bring myself to pick any of these teams to upset an LA team in a 7 game series. The games would be competitive but at the end of the day they just lack the firepower to hang with Lebron+AD/Kawhi+PG.

The team that I believe has the best chance: the Houston Rockets. I’ve been waiting for the Rockets to break out all season and every time it looked like they would, they would lose 2 or 3 in a row they should have won. But Daryl Morey has built his team all the way towards the modern NBA philosophy. Shoot 3s, shoot 3s and then shoot some more 3s. In an impressive win against the Bucks the other day, the Rockets attempted 61 (SIXTY-F’ING ONE!!) 3 pointers. James Harden and Russell Westbrook have no problem alternating being the ball handlers at certain points of the game and both have had 2 great games opening up play in the bubble. In an environment like this, with no home-court crowd advantage for the Lakers or the Clippers the Rockets offensive firepower could outgun either team. Especially for the Lakers, the Rockets small ball lineup of Harden, Westbrook, House, Tucker, and Covington could create matchup nightmares. The Lakers go rather big in their usual starting lineup with Lebron at SF, Davis at PF, and McGee at C. McGee could be way too slow to keep up with that Rockets lineup. And both Davis and McGee could be hesitant to get drawn all the way out to the perimeter to contest all those 3 pointers. If any team is going to prevent the LA showdown in the WCF, I am picking the Rockets to.