Of course the Western Conference is 10 times better than the Eastern Conference, but today we focus on the 8th seed.

There are on 4.5 games that seperate the first seed and the eight seed. Currently it is the Golden State Warriors that are in 8th place in the West but you can assure that they will be in 7th soon with the Rockets in that spot. There is no way T-Mac can do it all alone for that team. The West is way to strong and without Yao Ming the Rockets are not going to pull it off. They will fall out of the playoff race soon and will watch the playoffs at home. Watching the Hornets beat the Jazz made me wonder if the Jazz can beat the better teams in the West. But if the Jazz were the home team i think the outcome would have been different. The Jazz sit in 4th place right now and by the end of the year they will be the 4th-6th seed in the West. Then who will be the 7th and 8th seed? The Lakers will be more in line of a top 3 seed along with San Antonio and either Dallas or New Orleans. The Suns just lost their chance as a top 3 team by bringing Shaq in. Cmon people, yea Shaq can be funny off the court and talk all he wants but he even knows it. He doesn't have it anymore and he should not be with the Suns. The suns will be in line for a 4th or 5th seed and may not have home court advantage. Dallas will be with Pheonix and Utah fighting for the 4th-6th seed. So with the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Mavericks, Jazz, and Suns the top 6 teams in the West. That brings us to our question of which two teams will be fighting for the 7th and 8th seed in the West.

Houston will not be in that conversation without Yao Ming. Golden State, Denver and Portland will be the three teams trying to make the 7th and 8th seed. With these 3 teams fighting for two spots obviously one of them will miss the playoffs and I dont think Golden State will be one of them. The Warriors are just to good to miss the playoffs and they will be the 7th seed in the West. The Warriors will score the points but will they play defense? They just shoot and shoot but if they can outscore their oponents they will be fine. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson are the leaders on this team and with the way Jackson is playing this team has a great shot at making the playoffs.

Now that leaves us with the 8th seed. The Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trailblazers are the last two teams. I think Denver is a better team but can they co-exist? They could score points but they need to play more defense If you have Allen Iverson, Carmello Anthony and Marcus Camby you really should be a team to make the playoffs because that is a pretty good trio. The Portland Trailblazers have an explosive player in Brandon Roy and his teammate Lemarcus Aldridge is a very good player to. I dont think they will make the playoffs this year because i think the Nuggets are to good but next year with a healthy Greg Oden this team will deffinetly have a greater chance in making the playoffs.

Western Conference Breakdown Starting from the top team

The Los Angeles Lakers

 Coming into the 2007-2008 season the L.A Lakers had many question marks. Kobe Bryant wanted out, then he wanted to stay and then he wanted out again. Mitch Kubchak was questioned for not trading Andrew Bynum to the Nets for Jason Kidd before the trade deadline of last season. But it seems that the move payed off. The season opener against the Rockets, Kobe Bryant was booed by his home crowd but as expected when he dropped over 35 points the boo's turned into cheers. The Lakers got off to a very hot start this season and was one of the top teams in the west. Kobe was happy, Andrew Bynum looked great, and the bench was one of the best in the league. But when Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury it looked like it would be a mess for the Lakers and Kobe would once again start to complain. But Mitch Kubchak who has been questioned so much for not trading Andrew Bynum made a spectacular trade by trading the scrub himself Kwame Brown, Javarris Crintennon, Aaron Mckie, Marc Gasol and draft picks to the Grizzlies for All Star forward Pau Gasol without even giving up Lamar Odom or Andrew Bynum. Now the Lakers have a great starting 5 when Andrew Bynum comes back. It will be Derek Fisher at point guard. Kobe Bryant at Shooting Guard. Lamar Odom at Small forward. Pau Gasol at Power forward and Andrew Bynum at Center. That has to be one of the best starting lineups in the league. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are all stars. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum have the potential to be all stars and Derek Fisher is a great leader. The Lakers have a great team that has experience, leadership and most importantly they have winners. They are going to be a top 3 team in the Western Conference and don't forget they have one of the best benches in the league along with a great coach. The Lakers are heavy favorites in the West.

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are the defending champions and as usual they are being under estimated. They may not be the most exciting team in the league but they are good. They are one of the few teams that actually play defense. They have a great coach in Greg Papovich and he knows what he is doing. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan are one of the best trios in the league and all know how it feels to get to the NBA Finals. The Spurs most likely will be a top 3 team in the Western Conference if they can stay healthy. With Duncan doing what he does inside, Tony Parker bringing his speed and quickness to the hard wood and Manu bringing his explosiveness then the Spurs should be just fine.

New Orleans Hornets

If you want a suprise team in the western conferecne then the Hornets are them. How could a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year challenge the top Western Conference team for the top spot? The reason is Chris Paul and he has turned into an MVP Candidate. He has played up to his potential and he can dish out 10 assists consistently and he can put points on the board. Another breakout player who made his first all star appearence this year was David West. He has turned into another top player to help out Chris Paul. Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler are a pretty good trio and i believe they will be playing for the 7th and 8th seed by the end of the season.

Utah Jazz

Looking very tough to beat especially when they play at home, the Utah Jazz are currently the 4th seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz have one of the best Point Guards in the league in Deron Williams and he has a similar game to Chris Paul. Deron Williams having the court Vision that he does is really a huge part of this team. Since the Jazz traded for Kyle Korver they have won most of their games with him. Carlos Boozer is a very good inside prescence and a decent mid-range shooter. Memit Okur is a big center who can shoot the 3 point shot and play inside. The Jazz have a very good squad but can they compete against the better teams in the west and be consistent is the question for them.

Pheonix Suns

The Pheonix Suns who always look like they are going to make noise in the Western Conference always make the playoffs but can never pull of a trip to the NBA Finals. Steve Nash has won two MVP's for the Suns but he would rather have two Rings instead. The suns also made a trade to bring Shaquille Oneal to the team by trading away Shaun Marion and Marcus Banks. This move did not make the Suns any better. Shaq doesn't put up the numbers Marion put up for the Suns. Sure Shaq makes it easier for Amare Stoudemire inside but he just doesn't have it anymore. The Suns made this move because Marion wasn't happy in Pheonix because he felt he wasn't wanted there. The Suns knew they couldn't win anyway with that same team they had for last 3 years so that is why they brought Shaq in. This move can hurt them very badly because the Suns are definetly a team of the past. If Shaq can stay healthy and put up better numbers then what he has done lately then maybe this trade was worth it.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks just were stunned in the playoffs last year by the Golden State Warriors in the first round. Dirk was the MVP but that didn't matter to the Warriors. The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round and couldn't believe it. But by aquireing Jason Kidd they are a much better team. He averages almost a triple double and is a top point guard. With Kidd, Dirk and Josh Howard this is a very good team and i feel could be a top team in the Western Conference. The Dallas Mavericks are going to be a competitor but may not get home court advantage this year.

Houston Rockets

They are on a 13 game winning streak and they are looking great. But now that Yao Ming is out for the season the rockets are basically out of the playoff chase. Tracy McGrady is going to have to be superman for the Rockets to make the playoffs. Yao was back to his great play and T-Mac was getting healthy again but now that Yao is shut down for the year the Rockets dont have a great chance anymore. The Western Conference is to tough for the Rockets to make a run now.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference but with Houston losing Yao Ming the Warriors should move to the 7th seed. The Warriors are great at home and can score alot of points. But their problem is they dont play defense. Don Nelson tells his players to just shoot the ball and they do. When Stephen Jackson wasn't playing in the beginning of the season this team couldn't win a game. But he has changed his act into a leader. The Warriors can be a huge threat and can almost out score any team in the league so they need to keep shooting and hoping they make their shots. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson are a great 1-2 combo and the Warriors can make a deep run in the playoffs.