By late January, the NBA begins to stop lying to you. The schedule has done its damage, the injuries have told their stories, and the standings have enough scar tissue to matter. You can’t hide anymore, you can only adapt, scramble, or fold. This is the point in the season where illusions die quietly. No more small-sample optimism, no more “once we’re healthy” excuses. Just records, tendencies, and teams revealing exactly who they are.
Sometimes comparison really is the thief of joy. But when you’re deep in the trenches of an NBA season, it helps to look around and see where everyone else stands. The Pacific Division as of January 31st tells five very different stories with four teams fighting for playoff positioning, and one franchise that’s basically waving the white flag before February even starts.
The Lakers (29-18) and Suns (30-19) are locked in a proper division race, basically tied at the top. Both teams are rolling: the Lakers just demolished Washington 142-111 behind Luka Doncic’s casual 37-point triple-double, while the Suns are riding a three-game win streak despite Devin Booker nursing a sprained ankle. Dillon Brooks has been Phoenix’s unlikely savior, dropping 40 against Detroit and 27 against Cleveland while Booker recovers.
What’s wild is how different their paths look. The Lakers are 20-12 at home but a dismal 9-13 on the road, which could haunt them come playoff time. Phoenix doesn’t have that same home/road split issue—they’re just winning games regardless of venue, though their 2-3 division record suggests they struggle when facing their neighbors.
Golden State (27-23) sits 3.5 games back in third place, definitely in the playoff conversation still trailing the top two. The injuries to Jimmy Butler’s ACL (out for season) and Stephen Curry knee (left the loss vs Pistons early) have only created a fever pitch for a trade before the deadline. The Warriors are what they are at this point: a solid team that can beat anyone on a good night but lacks the consistency to truly compete with the division’s elite. Their 17-8 road record is their saving grace, because that ghastly 10-15 record on the road is killing their season. But the team that they are now and who they will be at the trade deadline could be two different things hmmmm.
Meanwhile the Clippers (22-25) occupy that dangerous fourth-place spot where they are close enough to smell the playoffs, far enough to worry about the play-in tournament. They just saw their impressive 16-3 stretch over 19 games get snapped by Denver, and now they head to Phoenix for a measuring-stick game Sunday. Kawhi Leonard (27.7 PPG) and James Harden (25.4 PPG, 8.1 APG) are doing their part, but Bradley Beal’s season-ending hip surgery stripped away crucial depth.
Even still, this team was thought to be dead in the water until they apparently jettisoned Chris Paul and locked in.
Then there’s Sacramento (12-38), currently perfecting the art of losing basketball games. The Kings are on an eight-game skid, 0-5 on their current road trip, and sporting a putrid 3-22 road record overall. They’ve dealt with injuries to key pieces like Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Russell Westbrook. They’re 17 games back of the Lakers and functionally eliminated from playoff contention before Valentine’s Day.
That’s your Pacific Division, two teams battling for top 4 seeding, your Dubs trying to figure out what they have, the Clippers crawling back in to the edges of the conversation on sheer grit and swag, and the rolling dumpster fire that is Sacramento.
See More: