If you happened to take a look at the NBA standings over the weekend, you couldn’t help but notice the list of one-time heavyweights at the bottom of the Western Conference.
San Antonio snapped a seven-game losing streak Saturday and sits in 11th place at 6-11, the same record as the Bulls. Oklahoma City is currently tied for 12th at 5-10, with last season’s Western Conference finalists — Portland and Golden State — bringing up the rear at 5-12 and 3-14, respectively.
Those four teams have been playoff regulars over the last decade, and the Spurs have qualified for the postseason for the last 22 years. The Warriors have been in the Finals for the past five seasons, winning three championships.
So, what’s caused these teams to drop so far, so fast? In the case of Golden State, injuries have decimated the roster with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell and Kevon Looney all out, Andre Iguodala traded, Shaun Livingston retired and Kevin Durant signing on with Brooklyn in the offseason.
Oklahoma City is ready for a major rebuild after trading top 10 players Paul George and Russell Westbrook over the summer, and San Antonio could be heading in that direction as well, with the veteran duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan proving less effective in the modern NBA.
The Portland situation is a little harder to figure, and the Bulls will get a chance to take advantage of the Trail Blazers’ struggles with a pair of games coming up this week. Portland let starting forwards Mo Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu walk in free agency, and traded valuable reserves Evan Turner and Meyers Leonard. Plus, starting center Jusuf Nurkic is still rehabbing a serious leg injury suffered last spring and won’t be back until January, at the earliest.
Damian Lillard continues to put up big numbers, and backcourt mate C.J. McCollum is coming on after a slow start, but the Blazers’ desperation to find a reliable third scorer led them to roll the dice on signing 35-year-old Carmelo Anthony last week.
NBA
It’s still very early in the season, but you can forget about the Warriors making the playoffs and the other three could miss the postseason party as well.
Where do the one time Western powers land in this week’s power rankings? Click here to check out our Week 5 slideshow.
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