The West is loaded with teams filled with stars and immense talent. There’s no doubt that the West is significantly better than the East; unfortunately, only four of these teams are going to be able to make it out of the first round. Let’s predict who will.

Oklahoma City Thunder (1) vs. Suns (8)

This marks the third consecutive year that the Thunder have had the best record in the West. Every year, they’ve made it out of the first round no problem. Will anything change this year? No. Sorry, no massive upset. The Thunder have arguably gotten even better from last year, when they won the championship. They’ve had an extra year together to learn each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. The scariest part about this Thunder team is that they were doing all this winning with their second-best player, Jalen Williams, missing more than half the season due to injury. Now they’re going to be playing at a whole other level with him back in the lineup. Before, if you were able to slow down Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, you would’ve had a legitimate chance of winning. Now, if you slow down Shai, you’ll have to slow down the guy who dropped 40 points in the Finals last year. Not to mention that offense isn’t even where they’ll hurt you the most. Where they’re truly deadly is on defense. They ranked number one in the NBA in defensive rating at 106.8, head and shoulders above the Pistons who were second. Not one player who steps on the floor isn’t elite at defense. They’ve got multiple guys who’ve made at least one All-Defense team: Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, and Jalen Williams.

Prediction: Thunder in 4

Los Angeles Lakers (4) vs. Houston Rockets (5)

The Lakers were looking so good heading into the playoffs. Luka Doncic was playing the best stretch of games in his career. Lebron James was finally getting used to not being the primary scoring option and had become a very effective number two to Luka. Then all that momentum they gained got snapped within a couple of games in the last week of the season. Luka Doncic suffered a left hamstring strain, and Austin Reaves endured a left oblique muscle strain. Both are not expected to be healthy enough to return for the first round of the playoffs. On the other hand, the Rockets have looked amazing down the stretch. In the last 10 games of the regular season, they went 9-1, averaging 123.6 points per game. And that plays right into the Lakers’ weakness, as they have a bottom-ten defense in the league with a poor rim protector and subpar perimeter defense. Players like Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant are going to have a field day against the Lakers’ defense. Now, if we look at the Lakers’ offense, without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, they’re going to have a very difficult time scoring the basketball. Their only real scoring threat is going to be a 41-year-old Lebron James being guarded by one of the best defenders and arguably the best athlete in the sport, Amen Thompson.​

Prediction: Rockets in 5

Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (6)

This might be the best series of the first round. This will mark the third time in four years these teams have matched up in the postseason. Both teams know how to push each other to play their absolute best basketball. Last time these two teams played in the playoffs, the Timberwolves barely got by the Nuggets, beating them in a hard-fought seven-game series. This time around, though, is a little bit different. The Timberwolves have gotten worse, and the Nuggets have gotten better. In 2024, the Timberwolves still had Karl-Anthony Towns, who provided elite spacing for them because, and then on defense, he did a surprisingly good job at guarding Nikola Jokic. He’s one of the rare players who has the size to match up with him but also the mobility to beat him to his spot. This time around, they have Julius Randle, an undersized power forward who shot 31.5% from three with poor defense. On the contrary, the Denver Nuggets have gotten better since the last time they played the T-Wolves; they have infinitely more depth this time and won’t have to rely on rookies in the most intense part of the season. Having said that, I can’t say this will be an easy series for them because of how good Anthony Edwards is and how he elevates his game in the playoffs. He’s the ultimate competitor, and he won’t make this a trouble-free series for the Nuggets.

Prediction: Nuggets in 6

San Antonio Spurs (2) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (7)

The Spurs are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. If we look at these two teams on paper, the Spurs should have no trouble getting past the Blazers. However, the Spurs don’t have much experience in the playoffs, and we have no idea how they will perform when the pressure is highest. The only two players in the Spurs rotation who’ve been to the playoffs are De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes. Nevertheless, the Blazers don’t have much experience in the playoffs either. Furthermore, the Blazers’ best player, Deni Avdija, is a player who loves to get downhill and score from inside. That’s not going to work against the Spurs because they have a 7 foot 4 alien who’ll be ready to swat that shot away more times than not. It’ll take a game or two for both teams to get used to the playoff environment, but the Spurs were the number two seed for a reason, and I see them beating the Blazers.

Prediction: Spurs in 5