The West is Still the Best

We’re looking at the most competitive Western Conference ever, where even the smallest of stumbles could send a team tumbling out of the playoffs. Yet a strange calm hangs in the air of the Houston Rockets’ locker room. It’s been 2 weeks since it was announced that Yao Ming’s broken foot will keep him off the court for the rest of the season, and the Rockets remain unbeaten since his injury. There may be a storm ahead, but for now, the team is taking it one game at a time.

"We don't care what anyone says about us outside this locker room.” Rockets G/F Tracy McGrady said, after helping his team extend their franchise record win streak. “We as a group believe, we know how good we are and we're showing it. We're a focused group, a group that understands how to win ballgames."

And when looking at the Rockets roster, they’ll certainly miss the 22-11 that Yao is used to putting up, but they still have plenty of skill and talent to fill in the massive crater in the middle that #11’s injury recently created.

PF Luis Scola is already playing like an old pro. The guy doesn’t always wow you in the stat sheet, but he’s the consummate team player, constantly setting screens, fighting for loose balls, and passing back out of double-teams. Meanwhile, 6’6” PF Chuck Hayes has continued to out-hustle and out-muscle his taller opponents; grabbing an average of 12 rebounds every 40 minutes.

So while Dikembe Mutumbo swings his razor sharp elbows, and Carl Landry continues to exceed expectations on the glass and at the defensive end, the Rockets have be able to run a more mobile defensive set, which actually is an upgrade from Yao’s greatest weakness: his inability to alter the course of the game on the defensive end.

As of this article, Houston is playing .690 basketball. They’re playing elite defense, and Rick Adelman is forcing his name into Coach-of-the-Year discussions. But this is still the hyper-competitive Western Conference. Losing five games in a row bumps them from 2nd down to 8th in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.

Which brings up a concern: With 10 very good teams competing for 8 spots, the battle for supremacy in the West probably won’t be clean-cut. After rattling off 7 decisive wins with Yao on crutches, Houston fans have a legitimate argument that they are the best team in the league, although I urge you to find a single coach or player who considers them anywhere near as dangerous a team as they were only two weeks earlier.

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So unless Kobe is playing Tim Duncan in the Western Conference Finals, the winner of the west will likely be the winner of a war of attrition than whether or not they have the most talented roster. Furthermore, any team that survives three rounds of heavyweight body-blows will likely be faced a well rested middleweight Eastern Conference champion. So it’s possible that simply getting to the finals may be the real championship of all.

West Power Rankings

Los Angeles Lakers
San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets
New Orleans Hornets
Utah Jazz
Dallas Mavericks
Phoenix Suns
Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Los Angeles Clippers
Tied for last: Seattle Supersonics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies

by Michael Glauser
Pro Basketball Fans Staff Writer

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