After the trade deadline, the top three teams in the West are the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs are the most fortunate of all of the NBA teams; not that they're lucky to have a 47-10 record, but that they haven't faced any kind of injury or major let down.
Unfortunately, every team in the NBA has to have a bad stretch of games and the Spurs are no exception to that. They will either have that stumble in the final part of the regular season or worse...in the playoffs.
The Thunder have everything needed to win a championship: A strong perimeter player, great point guard, a quality big man, a bench, rebounding and defense. This is how a team is supposed to be constructed.
They have the talent and the youth to run veteran teams out of the building. Experience is still an issue. Teams usually need two or three seasons of prior playoff experience to real have a true playoff experience.
They will have to go through two battle tested contenders to make it out of the West and they just aren't ready.
The Los Angeles Lakers have it all, yet they are their own worst enemy every time they step on the floor. When the Lakers play with a lack of aggression and focus, that is when they lose games.
This shouldn't happen in the playoffs, but it may. With all of the experience and high IQ players that they have, they should be able to win it all.
OKC: Lose in West Finals to Lakers
SA: Lose in Conference Semis to Thunder
LAL: Defeats Thunder in West Finals
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
