NBA Playoff Picture: San Antonio Spurs Moving up Standings, Houston Rockets Fighting for No. 2 Seed With Memphis Grizzlies

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Apr 07, 2015 06:28 PM EDT

This NBA postseason promises to be one of the most exciting Western Conference brackets fans could ever wish for.

Compared to the Eastern Conference, the West will have elite and epic battles starting in the very first round.

The San Antonio Spurs are the defending NBA champions, and they are peaking at just the right time. The Spurs have won their last seven consecutive games, and 10 of their last 11 dating back to March 18. In their last game, they defeated the Golden State Warriors for the second time this season, having the exclusive honor as the only NBA team to do so this year.

The Spurs won't have home-court advantage like they had the last two seasons, when they made the finals, but Gregg Popovich and his squad are very experienced. Tiago Splitter is battling a calf injury, but Kawhi Leonard and the rest of team are playing like champions. The Spurs are presently 51-26, sitting in the No. 6 spot with five games left to play. Two of those games will be played against the Houston Rockets.

Although the Portland Trail Blazers have one less win, they are currently a No. 4 seed because they won the Northwest division.

The Warriors will be facing the most pressure this postseason. Stephen Curry has been the leading MVP favorite all season long, and the Warriors have clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Warriors will play the No. 8 seed in the first round, who will be the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans or Phoenix Suns.

We also have a big race for the No. 2 spot. Both the Memphis Grizzlies and Rockets are fighting for the No. 2 seed, and they are each separated by just one game. The Rockets currently lead the Southwest division over the Grizzlies and Spurs. You could very well make the case that James Harden is the MVP this season given the fact that Dwight Howard has missed so many games. If the season were to end today, the Rockets would play the Dallas Mavericks in the first round.

As for the Grizzlies, they've been in a slump lately. Memphis was in second place for almost the entire season, but they've lost four of their last six games. The chances of Marc Gasol winning the MVP award now are extremely slim with Curry and Harden ahead of him in the standings.

By far the hottest team in the league lately has been the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have won 10 of their last 11 games, and sit in fifth place in the West. Doc Rivers knows this team is under a lot of pressure to win heading into the playoffs. The Clippers would face the Trail Blazers if the season ended today.