The NBA has seen a shift in its landscape of late with a plethora of teams trying to stake a claim to basketball supremacy. Once it was the domain of LeBron James and Steph Curry as their respective teams headlined title battles for more than a decade.
Now, other teams are building championship teams and giving the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers a run for their money. Both these teams are a couple of losses away from slipping out of postseason contention.
Even if they do make it to the postseason, they have shown signs they are not ready to take on the new giants of the NBA’s West. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets have shown they can handle the demands of playing big games.
But they are young and are not battle tested to give an impression of teams that could last a heated playoff battle with the seasoned veterans. Speaking of veterans, there are three other teams in the West who can go the whole way if health permits.
The Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have always been the Kryptonite squad to the Los Angeles Lakers. But over time, they have also shown the ability to beat any and every team. However, they also had their fair share of problems recently.
Nikola Jokic was playing at an extraordinary high level that made stat keepers happy. But at the same time, the team, as a whole, was not performing well. But earlier against the Sacramento Kings, they showed how their team play can create problems.
The most important show of all was Jamal Murray. He was often criticized for playing below his usual levels and his downturn in performance hampered the team beyond what stats showed. Against the Kings, he showed he can still step it up.
His movement on the floor when Jokic or Russell Westbrook had the ball in their hands showed he wanted to put in the effort. Combined with the efforts of the rest of the starters and the Nuggets could stay in lane with the high scoring Kings.
If they can continue this style of play and at that level, the West could have a problem on their hands. Now they will have to deal with Murray along with two league MVPs, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon in what could be their strongest starting lineup in the past two seasons.
James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers
When the 2024-25 season was about to start, the news that gripped most of the attention of fans and analysts was that of Kawhi Leonard‘s injury. It seemed the Los Angeles Clippers were doomed heading into their $2 billion Intuit Dome.
Many felt the team will lose fans and it could set the tone for the future. A quarter of the season in, and the Clippers are sandwiched between their former neighbors and the Warriors. They are yet to string together a set of wins, but head coach Ty Lue has them ticking along.
The most interesting part is the leadership James Harden has shown so far. Not only is he playing at a high level, but he is also helping his younger teammates flourish. In their lopsided win against the Utah Jazz, they showed that if they can step out of the gates at their pace, it is difficult for opponents to stick with them.
Under Ty Lue, they have shown both the scoring as well as defensive acumen. If they can continue to play at this level until Kawhi Leonard returns, it will bode well for their NBA title hopes. But what could really set the tone is a win over the Los Angeles Lakers in their new arena.
The Dallas Mavericks
Last year’s NBA Finalists need no introduction as fans are well aware of their playing style. When they added Klay Thompson to their squad this offseason, many were skeptical of their chances. Some felt either Thompson could continue to shoot woefully, or the team’s chemistry issues will hamper them.
But they are now comfortably sitting in fourth position in the NBA’s West with a 17-9 record. If their early season form is anything to go by, it is that they have found a way to win even if one of their superstars aren’t clicking. Their last game against the Golden State Warriors was a prime example of it.
The Dallas Mavericks are yet to come alive as a few of their bench players are still finding their feet. Maybe they need another quarter of the 82-game season to go by to truly show they capabilities. The Mavericks are serious about returning to win it all, and their play so far is proof of it.
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