3 Western Conference NBA teams to watch in the final stretch

The Western Conference has long been considered the superior conference in the NBA, and with good reason. Other than LeBron James-led teams, for the past decade-plus, NBA champions have come out of the West. And now LeBron plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.

Make no mistake, the infusion of West talent into the Eastern Conference may make the gap smaller, but that gap still exists for the time being. Kevin Durant and James Harden have gone to the Brooklyn Nets, Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks, and so on and so forth, but the West still rules the league until proven otherwise.

That may be this season, with the dynamic Nets, Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers making serious noise, but it won’t come easy.

3 Western Conference NBA teams to watch in the final stretch

The Western Conference playoff picture has a unique look to it this year. The Los Angeles Lakers are the walking wounded with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis out, the LA Clippers can’t quite seem to maintain an elite level of play, and the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns have been the conference’s ascendant powers.

While the two LA teams are likely to still be the forces to reckon with in the playoffs, there’s some room for debate about that. Perhaps more than there’s been since LeBron, Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George made their way to Tinseltown. As a result, you can’t be surprised that teams like the Denver Nuggets have made their move in an effort to capitalize.

We’ll take a look at the three Western Conference teams you have to watch down the final stretch of the season, starting with the Denver Nuggets.