Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets (38-17 record)

Denver are to a degree, serving two masters as the regular season winds down.

Given the pronounced home court advantage the altitude in Denver provides, securing the 2nd seed is vital. With the Clippers and Jazz within a game and a half of them, and the Rockets a true wildcard, they’ll have their work cut out. To that end, the excellent depth on this roster should hold them in good stead.

Securing the 2nd seed segues neatly into Denver’s other focus: a series win.

After last season’s capitulation to the savvy Spurs, nothing short of a 1st round series win is acceptable, although the team will of course be publicly aiming for a Conference Finals berth.

Utah Jazz (36-18)

The main focus for the Jazz is clear: get Mike Conley going.

The long time Memphis lead guard has struggled mightily in his new surrounds. He’s missed 22 games with injury and that certainly hasn’t helped, but even when playing he’s looked tentative in feeling out the ways that shooters like Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles want to receive the ball, and meshing with the roll patterns of Rudy Gobert. He’s shooting a horrible 39.2% from the field, with career lows in assists and steals.

Encouragingly, in a quartet of starts before the All Star break, Conley has averaged 20.3 points on 48.3% shooting with 4.8 assists.

Oklahoma City Thunder (33-22)

Everything from here on in is gravy for the 2019-20 surprise packet club. The expected Big Sellers at the deadline stood pat and can now focus on their unexpected play-off tilt.

They currently sit in 6th, but are only 2.5 games behind Houston and in possession of the tiebreaker. Do they get greedy and try to push up the standings? And if so, how? Will they enter the market for a buyout candidate? Do they lean on the veterans for more minutes, risking injury and/or fatigue?

An upgrade on the wing should be a priority.

Portland Trailblazers (25-31)

The Blazers sit 4 games back from the final play-off spot. With a veteran team, it’s surely play-offs or bust for Portland, despite their snake-bit season, including a groin strain for Damian Lillard that kept him out of the All Star game.

To that end, the Blazers should welcome back Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic in early March. If they can tread water until that point, could they make a move and spook the young Grizzlies into a form slump?

If they do make the play-offs, the Lakers – despite their pedigree – will want no part of Lillard.

Minnesota Timberwolves (16-37)

The Wolves have made their big move, and will live or die by the swords of Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. The top 2 picks from the 2015 draft are both signed through the 2023 season, so Minnesota will get a long look at their new cornerstones.

Minnesota’s deadline moves could come back to haunt them if they don't improve. Their surrendered draft picks could come in at the top of the draft. Of course, if the other deadline additions of Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez and holdover players like Jarrett Culver, Jake Layman and Josh Okogie all develop, the foundations of a good team suddenly appear.

That’s the focus in Minnesota: develop this young core and see if they can grow into a competitive unit.