Dan Le Batard Show: Is the bottom half the best in the West?

Who's the best team in the West? It may not be one of the teams you're thinking of, according to Amin. On The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Wednesday, he said you have to look a little further down the standings.

Amin comes right out and says he thinks teams four through seven are a better bet to win the Western Conference than teams one through three. Those teams are, in order, the Suns, Warriors, Clippers and Lakers. Here are their odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Dan notes that there is the juicy possibility of KD and the Suns taking on the Warriors in the first round, although Amin says it's more likely that, given tiebreakers, we'll see Suns-Clippers or Suns-Lakers. Dan points out that Stan Van Gundy thinks the Clippers are the most talented team, and Amin says that when Paul George is healthy, which is not the case right now, you definitely have to take them seriously. Amin moves on to the Suns, who he points out are undefeated when Kevin Durant plays and are every bit as good as advertised with KD in the lineup. Dan says their bench doesn't even matter if KD is KD and that Chris Paul doesn't even need to be great, merely good, when KD is healthy.

The crew then spends a bit of time talking about the Lakers. Dan is surprised that the Lakers have been able to fix some of their issues. Dan had thought they were adrift, but do you believe in them now? Amin says they fixed it and points out some of the differences between their championship roster (LeBron, AD and a deep group of vets that can shoot), the following season (injuries) and then the year after (trading contributors for one guy who didn't fit). He points out that they boxed themselves in when Russell Westbrook didn't fit with their team, as they left themselves nothing when it came to their supporting cast. Amin says that other than the Suns acquiring KD, he thought the Lakers had the best trade deadline because they were able to get depth, shooting and defense.

Amin then pivoted to the Warriors. He points out that the Warriors have an atrocious road record, which is historically bad, and have had lineup issues. But he also explained how the potential return of Andrew Wiggins will impact their chances.

The Warriors have only won 9 games on the road all season but @DarthAmin explains how the return of Andrew Wiggins makes them a serious threat to win the West: The lineup of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and Looney ranks No. 1 in offense, defense, net rating and more… pic.twitter.com/JZ5dSCxm4g

– Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) April 5, 2023

  
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