DALLAS —
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We're just over a week into the NBA season and the Western Conference appears to be as wide open as ever. Of course, it was the Mavs who rose above the pack to represent the West in the NBA finals last season, and things are shaping up to look like they can do it again.
Here's why.
Dallas finished fifth in the West last season, with the Clippers, Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Thunder ending with better regular season records. Of those four teams, three have experienced significant personnel changes.
Los Angeles is now without one of their biggest stars in Paul George, who left for Philadelphia this offseason on a four-year $212 million deal to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Minnesota traded one of their franchise stalwarts in Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Denver didn't lose many key pieces, but they did add former MVP Russell Westbrook on a two-year veteran minimum contract. Oklahoma City saw some changes too, but nothing as drastic as these other contenders, in trading for Alex Caruso and signing big-man Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Mavs meanwhile retained just about all their key pieces from the conference championship run, and they also added a veteran with tons of championship experience in Klay Thompson.
So far, here in the early goings of this season, the teams that finished above the Mavs last year have seen diminishing returns on their offseason investments. The Clippers are in the West cellar at just two and four, the Nuggets have stumbled out the gate to a three and three start, and its the same thing with the T-Wolves. The only team that finished above them last year and currently has a better record than them this year are the Thunder, who are off to a scorching hot six and oh start. So as we stand here now, LA looks like its desperately missing its second star, the Nuggets have thus far failed to successfully integrate Westbrook into their offense (an issue that the Lakers faced all last season), and Minnesota is lacking their twin-towers big-man duo that helped them finish as the best defensive team in the league last year.
Aside from the Thunder, the two teams that sit above the Mavs in the West currently have significant question marks. The Warriors and The Suns, both at five and one, have had their teams' age called into question. Phoenix finished just one game behind Dallas in the regular season standings last year, but they were swept in the only playoff series they appeared in. The team's central star, Kevin Durant, is entering his age 36 season. Looking at Golden State, Stephen Curry is also entering his age 36 season, and its his first year without his four-time champ teammate Klay Thompson. Nobody expected them to be in this position at this point in the season.
At this point, the Thunder appear to be the biggest threat to the Mavericks in repeating as Western Conference champs. Not only did they finish first in the West last year, their young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren gained a year of postseason experience along the way. Although, it was the Mavs who bounced the Thunder in last year's playoffs in six games.
So while it may be early for predictions, if Oklahoma City and Dallas both remain in the top four seeds in the West, look for them to potentially matchup in the Western Conference finals as two of the most complete teams in the conference.
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