Southwest Success

By Max Berger

As of December 27, 2012, three of the top six teams in the Western Conference were from the Southwest Division. The San Antonio Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets are the third, fourth and sixth seeds in the West respectively, and should all be playoff teams come seasons end.

AP Photo/ Eric Gay

San Antonio and Memphis have been strong all season, and should finish within the top four seeds of the West, along with the Los Angeles Clippers and the defending conference champions Oklahoma City Thunder. Tim Duncan and Zach Randolph, both power forwards for their respective teams, the Spurs and the Grizz, are having MVP-caliber seasons and are largely responsible for their team’s early success.

Houston was expected by most to miss the playoffs, but has been a surprise thus far this season and has been on fire lately. The Rockets are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are putting on a show. They are averaging the highest points per game in the NBA at 105.3, lead by new acquisition James Harden, who is averaging at fourth best in the league 25.8 points per game, and point guard Jeremy Lin, who has contributed more in the scoring department as of late.

At this point in the season, a little more than a quarter of the way through, here is what is clear about the Southwest Division:

Contenders: San Antonio and Memphis. The Spurs will challenge the Thunder and Clippers for the Western Conference crown. When healthy, they are talented, experienced and deep enough to win the West, the only question being if they are young and athletic enough to hang with the Thunder and Clips in a seven-game series.

Although they have struggled a bit lately, Memphis, too, could contend in the West. They have a dominant frontcourt tandem with Randolph and Marc Gasol, and if they can nail three pointers, they will be dangerous

Playoffs: Houston. With the trio of Harden, Lin and Omer Asik, the Rockets have surprised everyone and will end up being a tough out in the playoffs. While the team may be one missing piece away from being a contender, its offensive prowess is enough to keep things interesting in the playoffs and should prove to be a challenging test for the top teams in the conference.

Out: Dallas and New Orleans. The Mavericks could end up making a run as Dirk Nowitzki shakes off the rust, but they are too old and not athletic enough to make the playoffs this season – the conference is just too young and too good. As the season continues, though, don’t be surprised to see the Mavs, two years removed from the Finals, make a run at the eighth seed.

New Orleans, on the other hand, has no shot of making the playoffs. A few years down the road the “Pelicans” could emerge as a playoff team, but for right now they are competing more for the number one pick in the 2013 NBA Draft than they are for the playoffs.