Christian Wood going for 20 and 10 again he's gonna be a hot commodity in FA with his skill set and he's only gonna keep getting better
They have the league MVP and like the best net rating of any team in NBA history or something like that. If it wasn't for the best player in the league going nuclear last season they'd be the reigning champs right now. Teams and coaching staffs taking that Harden shade seriously gonna get swept if they act like Giannis just doing nothing but running and dunking to ~70 damn wins (not that that wasn't funny ).
As far as the underdogs in the West go, I think the Rockets are the biggest threat to either of the LA teams and it just comes down to will Houston be 2nd/3rd seed (Clippers 2nd round) or 4th seed (Lakers 2nd round)
Clippers getting 2nd seed is essentially getting the 1st seed, because WCFs vs LAL is gonna be in the same building regardless.
For Houston/Denver, it's all about that 2nd seed but if it at some point the Clips are running away with it, the question then becomes is it better to be 3rd seed or 4th seed.
It'll be some Laker fans in the building no doubt but its not what you think it is anymoreOnly as far as travel goes. As far as environment, the Clippers will be on the road even if it's their logo on the floor off GP. Add in Kobe's death and forget about it.