Is the bottom half the best in the West?

Who’s the best team in the West? It may not be one of the teams you’re thinking of, according to Amin. On The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Wednesday, he said you have to look a little further down the standings.

Amin comes right out and says he thinks teams four through seven are a better bet to win the Western Conference than teams one through three. Those teams are, in order, the Suns, Warriors, Clippers and Lakers. Here are their odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Dan notes that there is the juicy possibility of KD and the Suns taking on the Warriors in the first round, although Amin says it’s more likely that, given tiebreakers, we’ll see Suns-Clippers or Suns-Lakers. Dan points out that Stan Van Gundy thinks the Clippers are the most talented team, and Amin says that when Paul George is healthy, which is not the case right now, you definitely have to take them seriously. Amin moves on to the Suns, who he points out are undefeated when Kevin Durant plays and are every bit as good as advertised with KD in the lineup. Dan says their bench doesn’t even matter if KD is KD and that Chris Paul doesn’t even need to be great, merely good, when KD is healthy.

The crew then spends a bit of time talking about the Lakers. Dan is surprised that the Lakers have been able to fix some of their issues. Dan had thought they were adrift, but do you believe in them now? Amin says they fixed it and points out some of the differences between their championship roster (LeBron, AD and a deep group of vets that can shoot), the following season (injuries) and then the year after (trading contributors for one guy who didn’t fit). He points out that they boxed themselves in when Russell Westbrook didn’t fit with their team, as they left themselves nothing when it came to their supporting cast. Amin says that other than the Suns acquiring KD, he thought the Lakers had the best trade deadline because they were able to get depth, shooting and defense.

Amin then pivoted to the Warriors. He points out that the Warriors have an atrocious road record, which is historically bad, and have had lineup issues. But he also explained how the potential return of Andrew Wiggins will impact their chances.

Dan points out the juicy narrative of KD going to Phoenix to help knock off his old team the Warriors, as when healthy he thinks the Suns are the only team that can match up offensively with a healthy Warriors team. Mike says that if you promise him health, he thinks that what should be the two favorites should be the Lakers and the Suns.

The guys all agree that everyone seems to be trying to position themselves to play the Kings. Juju, however, has three words for you: LIGHT. THE. BEAM. He says book it — the Kings will get out of the first round!

Meanwhile, we give you what you really come to us for ... parenting advice.

Check out the breakdown of Wednesday’s show below.

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: Chris Cote’s Parenting Guide

• The Shipping Container toured the show’s new studio yesterday and may or may not have gotten emotional. Sandy Alcantara, Jimmy Butler, and Matthew Tkachuk continue to assert themselves as some of the greatest athletes in South Florida sports history. We should probably spend the hour discussing their excellence, but instead we find time for how famous someone has to be to get assassinated instead of murdered, Kid Rock doing Kid Rock things, and Billy’s wife potentially throwing away his clothing. Plus, is baseball moving too fast or is Billy just taking too long to put his daughter to bed? Chris Cote has some helpful tips and tricks to help young parents.

The Big Suey: The Zuber Shuffle

• Stugotz has a speed heater, Dan is Willy Wonka, Witty is here for some reason while Pablo still isn’t, Stugotz and Skipper may kill each other, and Dan might be wearing the same clothes on back-to-back days. Then, Stugotz shares his Top 5 memories of the Clevelander garage. Plus, Francis Zuber, the hero from the video we watched yesterday who saved someone from being buried beneath snow, joins us to share the details. And Amin shares the only 5 topics sports podcasts can be about.

Hour 1: Amin Knows Basketball

• Amin knows basketball and he’s here to tell us why the 4-7 seeds in the Western Conference are more likely to win the conference than the 1-3 seeds. Amin also defends Mike Schur as he arrives to deliver his 76ers-Celtics based Stats of the Day. Plus, Billy and Stugotz are stuck on baseball’s Shrikflation as we discuss if auctioneers are the answer to solve baseball’s speed issues.

Hour 2: Things Are Getting Messi

• Michael Rothfeld joins the show to discuss Donald Trump’s arrest. Mike gives us the latest on on Lionel Messi. Abraham Josephine Riesman discusses her new book “RINGMASTER: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America.”

Postgame Show: Shipping Container Rebrand

• Chris discusses attending the Final Four. Billy, Mike and Chris discuss retiring the name The Shipping Container once they move into the new studio.

Watch more below!

VIDEO:

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