Your NBA Playoff Primer: The West

There are plenty of quality teams out West, but all signs are pointing to a historic showdown between Kawhi Leonard's Spurs and Steph Curry's Warriors.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Ed. Note- Today Adam continues his look at the NBA Playoffs with the brutal Western Conference, led by the historic Golden State Warriors, but don't sleep on the always competitive San Antonio Spurs, who have had a regular season for the record books themselves.

If you'd like to see his Eastern Conference preview, click here. Now, onto the best of the West.

#1 Golden State Warriors vs. #8 Houston Rockets

Can the best team in NBA regular season history repeat as champions? If there is not a major Warriors injury, then it looks likely they will be raising the Larry O’Brien trophy again. The best offense in the league plays at the highest pace of any team in the playoffs, because Golden State knows that, the more possessions there are in a game, the better chance the northern Californians are happy.

West Round 1 Preview: (3) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (6) Golden State Warriors

DeAndre Jordan improved by leaps and bounds in 2014.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

By the Numbers

Los Angeles:
57-25 (34-7 Home; 23-18 Road)
PPG: 107.9 (1st); 101.0 (14th)
+7.0 Average Scoring Margin (2nd)
Off Rating: 109.4 (1st); Def Rating: 102.1 (7th)
+7.3 Net Efficiency Rating (2nd)

Golden State:
51-31 (27-14 Home; 24-17 Road)
PPG: 104.3 (10th); PPG Allowed: 99.5 (10th)
+4.8 Average Scoring Margin (T-4th)
Off Rating: 105.3 (12th); Def Rating: 99.9 (3rd)
+5.4 Net Efficiency Rating (6th)

Season Series: Tied 2-2
Los Angeles 126, Golden State 115 (October 31)
Golden State 105, Los Angeles 103 (December 25)
Golden State 111, Los Angeles 92 (January 30)
Los Angeles 111, Golden State 98 (March 12)

NBA All Star Weekend Shouldn't Feel This Dull

Winners of the most boring competition ever conceived: The NBA's Shooting Stars Challenge.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Many of us are still enjoying an elongated weekend for Presidents Day, but the NBA's All Star weekend is completely finished. Per usual, it left American sports fans groaning a collective "meh," despite what the league will insist was one of the most exciting All Star weekends in history.

It shouldn't be this way.

As far back as I can remember (somewhere around '93 or '94) fans and pundits have been trying to "fix" the All Star game. On paper, last night's game should have put a ribbon on a thrilling weekend of events. The East broke an All Star game record by erasing an 18-point deficit, and winning with an also-record 163 points, as both teams combined for a, you guessed it, All Star Game record 318 total points.

With all those records being set, Blake Griffin dunking his way to 38 points, Kevin Durant matching him for the game high, and Melo and Kryrie Irving each gunning their way to 30+, what could be better?

Studs and Duds: Flipping Out

By Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello

Studs and Duds is a weekly feature on Suite Sports. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week?

Studs

Filomena Tobias

This Florida woman, now famous for violently flipping off Chicago's Joakim Noah after he was ejected from game two of the Bulls' playoffs series against the Miami Heat, is all kinds of awesome. First of all, she captures the essence of a very particular kind of South Floridian: The Rich Trash.

Yeah, she has money, but you have no idea how she got it (Well, according to Deadspin she married four different rich dudes, and was accused of killing one of them). And, instead of being classy with her money, she throws it in everyone's face and just generally acts like she's better than you, despite the fact that she has done nothing in her life to earn said money. And just look at that guy she's with, he's clearly miserable and trying to convince himself that he's happy. Awesome.

Does she give some of that money to charity, or at least use it help out friends and family? Nope, looks like she spends it all on jewelry, pants that should only be worn by someone 20 years younger, pills and Heat tickets.

The craziest thing about this is the pride it gave my fellow native South Floridians. Instantly, memes were made showing her as a sign of Miami's attitude and toughness. Seriously, this is the way we want the rest of the country to view us. Like, for reals.

Man, I miss South Florida.

-JP