Once LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers, all the elite talent had officially moved out west. A strong argument could be made for 12 of the NBA’s top 13 players residing out here. With LeBron’s departure, the east is officially open, but not in a good way. It took a huge hit and brought almost all the remaining power that the Conference had and tipped it even further in the West’s favor.

The Western Conference was extremely competitive last year, as it usually is, which is why many pundits and fans believe that the Lakers may not be to have much success, even with James. However, the conference may not be as strong next year as everyone would think. And it might open up over the next few years.

Let’s start with last year’s Western Conference number one seed, the Houston Rockets. They are led by James Harden and Chris Paul. They retained Paul in free agency, by agreeing to a four-year $160 million deal. However, with that, and trying to pay Clint Capela, they lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. They aren’t big names, but their value to the team could not go understated.

And if Houston pays Capela what he wants, they will be cash-strapped and led by an aging Chris Paul, overpaid Capela, and no-defense James Harden over the next few years. Do not expect the Rockets to be as formidable as they were last year. They will no doubt take a step back.

The Pelicans lost both DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo. The Pelicans played better without Boogie but losing talent as he hurts. And their success in the playoffs was largely predicated on Rondo. They signed Julius Randle, but overall are an inferior squad than last year.

The Portland Trailblazers have plateaued overall the last few seasons, getting swept in back-to-back first rounds of the conference playoffs. They peaked with the third seed last year, but the playoffs showed us their true identity. They have a bloated payroll spearheaded by bad contracts. The only way to go forward is to take a few steps back and reset because they have no flexibility to improve.

The Timberwolves were the 8th seed last year, but they have their locker room problems to take care of. Starman Jimmy Butler is ‘fed up’ with the team’s young players. Karl-Anthony Towns is talking extension, leading to fair speculation that Butler may leave Minnesota next summer. They were terrible on defense, and Andrew Wiggins regressed in his fourth season.

We all know what’s going on with the San Antonio Spurs and Kawhi Leonard. And they lost Tony Parker, officially signaling the end of an era. LaMarcus Aldridge is 33, Pau Gasol is 39, and Manu Ginobili is over 40. And on top of all this, they may trade away their best player. They are in a situation that they have not been in before and may be starting a reloading phase.

And the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a similar situation as Portland. No financial flexibility because of expensive and overpaid players. They were embarrassed in the first round of the playoffs last season and brought back the same team. And, all their players have peaked and have no room for improvement.

The Utah Jazz may be the only team that improves because they are young, hungry, and have an excellent coach. But other than them, most of the team’s in the west have their problems to deal with, causing them to regress or stay put where they are. No one got better. It’s the Warriors, and then everyone else is clumped close together, creating an opening for a team like the Lakers to make noise.

Speaking of the Warriors, they showed some cracks in the armor last year, with health and almost lost to the Rockets, until Chris Paul missed Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Curry’s ankle problems came back, Klay Thompson is a free agent next summer and wants to get paid. As does Draymond. And Kevin Durant may finally stop taking pay cuts.

They cannot pay everyone. And after four straight trips to the NBA finals, wear and tear take a toll. And with thin, fragile players like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, who have dealt with their fair share of injuries, it may catch up to them.

This is not all to say that the conference is bad. It’s still loaded with talent and stronger than its eastern counterpart. However, it may not be as loaded as people think.

Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons

The post Western Conference May Not Be as Strong as You May Think in 2018 appeared first on Rush Hour Daily News | Breaking News, U.S & World News, Politics & Opinions - News around the World.