The Western Conference side of the playoffs is just as much of a power house as the Eastern side is. The Western side contains teams like the Warriors, the Suns, the Nugget, etc. All these team have all stars putting up numbers that are just like no other players. I personally believe that the Western side of the bracket is going to be tougher to beat than the Eastern.
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The Suns have been a dominant team throughout the 2021-22 regular season. The had one 63 regular season games which is a franchise record for them. They were only 10 games behind the Warriors for the best record in NBA history. The Pelicans were a whole different story. They barely made it into the playoffs. Having to beat the Clippers to make it in. There season was not horrible but many people think they will not make it past the first round. The Suns have too many threats on there offense like Devin Booker or Chris Paul. Then they have a defense that has been showing off their talent like Deandre Ayton. The Suns took game 1 with a game with a score 110-99. Chris Paul and Devin Booker, as usual, put up 20 plus points each and secured the win for the Suns.
This was not the same way for game 2. Even though Devin Booker had 31 points in the first half, he could not come back to play the second half due to injury. So, Brandon Ingram and Cj McCollum put up a combined 60 points and then secured the win for the Pelicans. After the conclusion of these two games we have a tied series at one game a piece. This series will continue 9:30 on Friday.
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A lot of Warriors fans have more have hope again. They had started off with a pretty good season and still ended off the season with a record of 53-29. Of course Curry has been putting up crazy numbers and so has Klay. Jordan Poole has surprised many fans though. He has been putting up numbers like he has been in the NBA for as long as the old heads. The Warriors dropped 123 points to the Nuggets 107 points. Jordan Poole scored 30 points while shooting 69% from the field and shooting 71% from beyond the arc. I believe that if the Warriors advance, it is going to be because of how much Jordan Poole has stepped up.
Another crazy statistic from this series is is the Steph Curry came off the bench in game 2 and scored a whopping 34 points. You usually hear about the players from the starting lineup scoring all the points. Many people think just because it was Curry he came out and did what he normally does. But coming off the bench and doing that is crazy. Jokic is doing all he can scoring 25 plus points in both games so far but it seems as though is lacking. Without Jamal Murray it does not make it much easier. If the Nuggets do not win this next game and do not gain the momentum they need I would say that the Warriors are taking this series and running to the next spot in the playoffs.
This matchup seems like a pretty even match up. With Luke out, the Mavericks are going to have to bank off of Spencer Dinwiddie and Jalen Brunson to make up the points that Luka is missing out on. It is also going to be difficult to out rebound Rudy Gobert and defend the quick and athletic ability of Donovan Mitchell. The Mavs fell just short on Saturday in game 1 of the series, losing 99-93. Both Dinwiddie and Brunson scored above 20 points each playing over 30 minutes of the game. Reggie Bullock as well played 44 minutes and scored only 15 points.
On the other side of things Donovan Mitchell matched their time and was able to point up 32 points in game 1. Gobert was also a threat, not with points, but with rebounds. He only had 5 points but had 17 rebounds. It is a challenging task to guard a 7 foot beast. But the Mavericks found the way to do that in game 2. Jalen Brunson carried the team on his back, putting up 41 points, shooting 60% from the field while also shooting 60% from beyond the arc. It is kind of crazy though because the Jazz copied almost the exact stats they did from the previous game. All in all the Mavericks still pulled out of that game and was able to tie the series 1 game to 1.
The Grizzlies have had an awesome season. With superstar Ja Morant to lead the way, the Grizzlies amassed 56 wins. The Dynamic between Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant is a key spark as to why they have gained the amount of wins they have acquired. The Timberwolves on the other hand just barely squeaked into the play by way of the Play in games that happened just a few weeks ago. It comes to a surprise that this team did not have a landing spot in the playoffs already due to the amount of talent they possess. I mean Karl-Anthony Towns won the 3 point contest. They have one of the cockiest defenders in the league in Patrick Beverly, but they still didn't make a guaranteed place. But they are fighting against Memphis to move on.
Game 1 was a shock that the Timberwolves won. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns scored a combined 65 points. These points contributed to their success in game 1. Game 2 was a different story for the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies. Something changed in the game of the Grizzlies and didn’t allow Minnesota to break 100 points. Memphis even out there scores between all players. Same on the side of the Timberwolves as well. Grizzlies pulled out the win and were able to tie the series at 1-1.
Just like the Eastern side, this side is crazy. Who do you think has the best chance at winning the West? Is it the number 1 seeded Suns or do the Timberwolves have a chance to make a run? Let me know below!
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