In a conference that has dominated the NBA Finals over the past decade, the NBA's Western Conference might be the most competitive and wide open it has been in years.

With just one seemingly elite team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and a half-dozen others flip-flopping places in the standings nearly every night, this year's conference is one of the hardest to predict in recent memory.

In the Southwest, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and star forward Dirk Nowitzki got off to a slow start, but have quietly finished eight games above .500 (21-13) heading into the break. With Nowitzki and ageless guards Jason Terry and Jason Kidd still performing at a high level, Dallas appears in good shape for another title run.

Ahead of Dallas in the division are the San Antonio Spurs. Point guard Tony Parker may be having his best season to date, leading the team in scoring (19.5) and assists (7.9). Though Tim Duncan has shown age is catching up with him, he remains a threat on the court every night.

The Pacific Division may be the most intriguing as a new and exciting rivalry has spawned in Los Angeles. Usually when there are two professional teams in one city, a rivalry is automatically created. But that has not been the case with the Clippers and Lakers as the former has rarely been competitive.

This season, however, the Clippers have a dynamic roster which many believe to be the most exciting in the league. Point guard Chris Paul and forward Blake Griffin (both All-Star starters) have brought a team which has pretty much never been relevant to first place (20-11) in the Pacific at the season's midpoint.

The Lakers (20-14) are in the midst of some controversy as trade talk surrounding star forward Pau Gasol has become a distraction for the squad. Gasol, along with team leaders Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, held a recent players-only meeting to tell the side trade rumors do not matter and the only thing they should be worried about is supporting whoever is on the roster no matter what happens.

In the Northwest Division, the Thunder (27-7) have established themselves as the favorite to reach the finals in the West. Before the season began, there were worries star point guard Russell Westbrook would not be able to accept forward Kevin Durant as the team's go-to player. But the Thunder made it clear Westbrook is valuable to the team as they signed the 23-year-old to a five-year, $80 million contract extension on Jan 19.

While the aforementioned teams are at the top of the West, sides such as the Houston Rockets (20-14), Memphis Grizzlies (19-15), Portland Trail Blazers (18-16), Denver Nuggets (18-17) and Minnesota Timberwolves (17-17) are all within realistic reach of post-season play. Only 4 games separate third place (Clippers) and 10th (T-wolves). One can only assume that will set the table for some riveting basketball in the coming months.

Clark Cahill is a copy editor at China Daily. He can be reached at cahillclark@gmail.com

(China Daily 02/26/2012 page8)