Updated: Playoff Picture Coming in Focus (or not)

With their victory over the Rockets, the Nuggets took a firm hold on the 8th spot in Wild Western Conference Playoffs.

For the Warriors to sneak in, they need to beat the Suns in Phoenix and the Seattle Super Sonics at home, AND count on the Nuggets to lose to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. That is a tall order, especially because Denver has already beaten the Grizzlies three times this year.

Think Carmello Anthony and co. know what's on the line against the Grizz? Count on it!

So assuming Denver holds strong, in alphabetical order, here is your 2008 Western Conference Playoffs line-up:

Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
LA Lakers
New Orleans Hornets
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz

Alphabetical because, quite honestly, there is not a clear-cut best team. One day, it's the Hornets, today's it's the Lakers (who stomped the Spurs), but then there's the the Jazz. Oddly enough, the biggest question mark, the Houston Rockets, could very well end up the Number 1 seed! T-Mac, playoff O-fer, favored to win the Wild West!?

More and more, teams with 2+ All-Star caliber players are dominating the NBA. The one-trick pony acts of LeBron's Cavs, Iverson's '00 Sixers, Vince Carter's '00-02 Raptors, Dwyane Wade's Heat, Kevin Garnett's '99-07 aT-Wolves, Michael Redd's Bucks, the '05-07 Kobe Bryant Lakers have all flat-lined. The cream of the crop are the teams with a few All-Star's:

Parker-Ginobili-Duncan (Spurs)
Nash-Stoudemire-O'Neal/Marion (Suns)
Kobe-Gasol-Odom-Bynum (Lakers)
Paul-West-Chandler (Hornets)
KG-Pierce-Allen (Celtics)
Billups-Hamilton-Wallace-Prince (Pistons)
Williams-Boozer-Kirilenko (Jazz)
Carmello-AI-Camby (Nuggets)
Howard-Lewis-Turkoglu (Magic)
Arenas-Butler-Jamison (Wizards)

With all due respect to their team chemistry, who do the Rockets roll out?

T-Mac-Luis Scola-Rafer "Skip-to-my-Lou" Alston!?

Not in the 2008 Western Conference. Not when the 8-seeded Nuggets, the worst of the bunch, can counter with the offensive firepower of two 30-ppg scorers (Anthony and Iverson) and 4 others who can score 30 on any given night.

If the Rockets had Yao Ming, it would be a different story. In the half-court, they could pound the post and spread the floor for their shooters. That's the way teams win 7-game series. Without him, no matter their playoff seeding, they are very limited.

It ultimately boils down to the crazy 2008 Western Conference. Of the 12 best teams in the NBA today, 9 of them are West of the Mississippi.

UPDATE: For more conversation about the cluster of elite teams, The Rotation at AOL Fanhouse has some good analysis today.
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On a very different note and despite a bummer 2007-8 campaign, Jason Richardson (yes the Dunk Contest Champ!) leads the NBA in 3pm this season with a whopping 235! There are only three with 200+:

1. Jason Richardson, Charlotte Bobcats, 235
2. Peja Stovakovic, New Orleans Hornets, 228
3. Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic, 218

Last year, Raja Bell (Suns) and Gilbert Arenas (Wizards) shared the honor of Best Gunner with 205 total.

Now those three, Richardsn, Stojakovic, and Lewis, also took the most 3's this season. Not surprisingly, only Stojakovic ranks in the Top-10 for percentage. The best percentage wise:

1. Jason Kapono, Toronto Raptors, .483

But Kapono has only hit 56, and unlike Richardson, Stojacovic, and Lewis, is not a big-time scorer.

Either way, big kudos to Richardson because he has really changed his game since his Rookie season. He went from Only-A-Dunker to an all-around offensive beast. Yes, knee injuries have prevented any elite play, but he still ranks among the best 20 scorers in the NBA.

Accordingly, I think the NBA should award the players with the most Dunks and 3-Pointers, much the same way the MLB unofficially recognizes a Strike-Out and Homerun King. Just as the Strike-Out and the Homerun are the most devastating events in baseball, the Slam Dunk and 3-Pointer are easily the most devastating in Basketball (the block comes in 3rd).

So barring a flurry of Stojakovic 3's or Tyson Chandler dunks, hat's off to Jason Richardson (3PM) and Dwight Howard (Dunks), your 2008 NBA Devastation Dynamos.

UPDATE: Richardson finished 2008 with 243 3's and Howard was a runaway winner, thanks to a stat flashed on SportsCenter last night in the PM. Amare Stoudemire finished second, followed by Tyson Chandler. Kenyon Martin (yes that Kenyon Martin) was in the running too.