Column: Breaking down the Western cellar

First, I want to concentrate on the West, because the West playoff picture is much clearer. Six of the 15 teams in the Western Conference are not in contention for the playoffs. In the East, there is a little room for error because the teams who earn the final few postseason bids will have losing records. The results in the East are likely to be shaken up if any team gets lucky and notches a few wins in a row.

Here are the bottom six teams in the West right now, from best record to worst: the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Memphis Grizzlies are the other team in the West currently out of the playoffs, but they are only one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the eighth spot, so they still have a shot.

Here is my opinion of the Western Conference teams most likely to make the playoffs in the near future:

1. Los Angeles Clippers

Two words: Blake Griffin. Some of the words I would choose to describe Blake Griffin include, but are not limited to, beastly, a monster, a hurricane, the Clippers’ “Chosen One,” compensation to Clipper Nation for Mike Dunleavy and Donald Sterling, vigorous, the SportsCenter Top 10 machine and the star of the L.A. Blakers. Griffin has proven to not only be a dynamic dunker who will be participating in the slam dunk contest this weekend but also a solid power forward who generates an almost automatic double-double every night. He was chosen by the coaches to play in the All-Star Game as well. With Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Randy Foye and a future lottery pick, the Clippers are certainly the most likely of the lesser Western teams to become playoff contenders.

2. Golden State Warriors

This team is one good player away from having a breakout season. Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, David Lee and Andris Biedrins are a solid core of players around whom a playoff team can be built. The Warriors just need a little more defense and a solid wing player who can make use of Ellis’ driving abilities and Curry’s ability to collapse the opposing defense. The Warriors are close. Very close.

3. Houston Rockets

This season has been a hard one for the Rockets, who again lost Yao Ming for its duration. Although they have not been able to string together many victories this season, they have been successful without Yao in the past. The Rockets have a lot of talented players with point guards Aaron Brooks, forward Luis Scola and guard Kevin Martin. The Rockets will need some time to move beyond Yao, but they are certainly not out of the playoff picture in the near future.

4. Sacramento Kings

So far, the Kings have been playing like a team with limited experience. They have some skilled recent high draft picks in Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, but they need some time playing together to get on the same page. Sacramento has a talented core with Francisco Garcia and Carl Landry, but it will have to develop the skills of its younger players and add some others from outside the organization before the Kings can make a run at the playoffs.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

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This team has too much talent to stay at the bottom of the West for long. Michael Beasley came to the Timberwolves as part of the sign-and-trades the Miami Heat made for their big three, and the forward has made a name for himself in Minnesota. Averaging almost 20 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Beasley will try to improve soon along with the rest of the Wolves. Also on the Timberwolves are All-Star Kevin Love, Jonny Flynn and Corey Brewer, who will likely be joined by a high lottery pick in this summer’s draft. Minnesota has the rights to Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, too, and if the Timberwolves can make use of him, either by signing or trading him, they have a chance to improve their team.

6. Phoenix Suns

The Suns are old. With a starting squad including 37-year-old Steve Nash, 38-year-old Grant Hill and 34-year-old Vince Carter, the Suns will go downhill unless they can engineer some sort of trade. Rumors have swirled that the two-time-MVP Nash may be sent to another squad, which could bring some new assets to help rebuild the Suns around center Marcin Gortat and wing Mickael Pietrus. If the Suns cannot swing a trade, they will not get near the playoffs for a while.