Cooper Flagg Is Coming Into His Own And The Rockets New Starting PG. This Is The Latest NBA Brain Food For The Western Conference

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Here is what's happening from the 15 Western Conference NBA teams written by the super fans that are closest to each team. This is NBA Brain Food - Western Conference Edition for Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025

Dallas Mavericks (7-15, 12th in the West) via J.D.

• The Mavs were 2-1 in their last 3 games with back to back wins over the LA Clippers and the Denver Nuggets.
  
  
• The Mavs' injury luck continues to be bad. PJ Washington sprained his ankle coming down on a loose ball in warmups before playing the Clippers on Saturday, He has missed the last 2 games.
  
  
• Ryan Nembhard made NBA history as the first point guard to have 28 pts, 10 ast, 0 turnovers on 100% true shooting. Since he has returned and made his way into the starting lineup, he is averaging 17.6 pts and 5.6 ast.
  
  
• Cooper Flagg has also been playing his best basketball. He is averaging 24 pts, 7.7 rebs, and 5 ast over the last 3 games. 
  
  
• Anthony Davis has played 2 of the last 3 games. He averaged 30 minutes, 22 points, 9 rebs, and 4.5 ast over those 2 games.
  
  
• Over the last 3 games, the Mavs have been 11th in offensive rating (up from 30th) and 2nd in ast/to ratio (up from 30th)

Denver Nuggets (14-6, 4th in the West) via Grant M

• Worst week of the season for the Nuggets going 1-2, blowing 17+ point leads in both losses, both at home, where they’ve lost four straight. 

• A bright spot has been Spencer Jones play in his stint in the starting lineup, recording 16 points and 9 rebounds on Friday and 28 points on Monday’s loss to Dallas, tied for the most points by a two way player this season (With Ryan Nembhard, same game).

• Jamal Murray had an awesome November, with career highs in points and assists for the month. He briefly left Monday nights loss with an ankle injury but returned quickly. Health is a concern for this team. 

• Defense has been a major struggle in the last five games, allowing an average of 125 PPG. This coincides with the absences of Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon, the team’s two best defensive players. 

• The Nuggets next four games are all on the road against eastern conference teams. This includes the Hawks who Nikola Jokic has recorded a triple double against in three of the last four matchups. 

• Despite the losses Nikola Jokic is still really really really good.

Golden State Warriors (11-10, 8th in the West) via T.J. B

• The Warriors battled the Rockets to start the week, giving up a 12-point halftime lead, and losing Steph Curry with 3 minutes left to a quad contusion and muscle strain, but luckily avoiding a tear. 

• Steph will be reevaluated this Thursday and will most likely miss the upcoming road trip - 12/4 (Sixers), 12/6 (Cavs), & 12/7 (Bulls). 

• Reed Sheppard also scored a career-high 31 points before Steph went down, which continues the trend of the Warriors not being able to defend average guards who can create with the ball and shoot pull-up 3's. (In the last month - Brandon Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, Anthony Black, etc.). 

• Brandon Podziemski will start in Steph's absence. He made 3 of 9 threes in the Warriors' win on Saturday over the Pelicans. Coach Kerr wants him to continue to be aggressive, saying after the game, “That’s the best version of him—nights like tonight. Catch and shoot when he’s open. I love that he took nine threes. He’s been passing them up this year and pump-faking and driving into the paint. We want him to let it fly.”

• "Podz" as a starter this year (32 MPG) has averaged 14/5/4 on 43/35/78 shooting splits, while attempting almost 6 threes per game. 

• The Warriors sit at 16th overall in Net Rating (1.3), and play the Thunder tonight without Steph (1st in Net at 15.3).  

Houston Rockets (13-5, 3rd in the West) via Freddy V

• Then Rockets survived two games without superstar Kevin Durant with wins over Phoenix and Golden State but start off the month of December with a loss in Utah. Monday's night loss versus Utah was the first time the Rockets played a back to back all season 

• Second year Guard Reed Sheppard has finally made his way into the starting rotation, and it looks like it could be permanent as he has now started four games in a row. In those 4 games he averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.25 steals. Sheppard scored a career high 31 points vs the Warriors on Thanksgiving eve. 

• The Rockets currently have a top 3 offense and defense in the NBA with a Offensive Rating of 123.8 (2nd) and a Defensive Rating of 111.9 (3rd). Opponents are only averaging 111 points a game versus the Rockets which ranks at #3 in the league, they also rank #6 in steals with 9.4 a game. 

• Alperen Sengun continues his stellar season as he now has 5+ assists in 18 games in a row and is averaging 6.9 per game this season. Sengun worked on his three ball this offseason and you can see it on the court as he is now up to a nice 39.6 % from three this season and is only two more makes away from surpassing his last years total made three pointers 

• Tari Eason is still out with a injured quad and will be for another 4-5 weeks or so. Jae’Sean Tate and Aaron Holiday are filling in for the meantime. The Rockets are also missing Dorian Finney-Smith who has yet to play a game this season   \

Los Angeles Clippers (5-16, 14th in the West) via Jeremiah D.

• Clippers are 20th in offensive rating with a 113.7 and 27th in defensive rating with a 120.0 WE ARE ASS! 

• Clippers are tied for the 5th worst record in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder own the Clippers unprotected first round pick.

• Clippers are 28th in fast break points per game, 26th in pts, 26th in reb, 28th in ast, 28th in pace, 26th in FGM and 29th in FGA

• The Clippers are 27th in 3rd quarter margin with a (-2.8).

• The last time The Clippers lost 13 games in a calendar month was March 2010. (2-13 this November)

• Kawhi Leonard has averaged 35ppg in his last 3 on a minutes restriction but it hasn’t been enough to pull this Clipper team out of the gutter.

• James Harden is averaging 27.7-5.9-8.7 his best since 2019-2020.

• Clippers are still missing Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), Bogdan Bogdanovic has missed 6 straight with a (left hip contusion). 

• James Harden was asked after the game Saturday about the challenge of integrating players the Clippers didn’t expect to rely this heavily on: “Challenging” In what ways? “Every Way”. He was also asked about his floor-raising ability not being enough for this group: “I don’t know. I don’t know… Situation here is difficult…”

• After the horrific 5-15 start, Steve Ballmer has spoken with Ty Lue and Lawrence Frank about how to “turn things around”. Ballmer also made it clear that the job to turn it around is on Lue and Frank.

• James Harden with an absolute stinker on Monday night against the Heat posting a -39 in 20mins. 

Los Angeles Lakers (15-5, 2nd in the West) via Andrew K

• Since last week, the Lakers have gone 3-1; playing the Clippers, Mavs, Pelicans and Suns, with the loss coming to the Suns off the back-to-back.

• The game vs the Suns exploited some glaring holes for the Lakers. Coach Redick noted that the Suns overwhelmed them, forcing turnovers and pushing pace, taxing the Lakers legs. With Marcus Smart being out, there is a big hole in a perimeter wing missing on the Lakers; the staff has to either give Adou Thiero or Jarred Vanderbilt minutes.

• Luka and Reaves are attempting just under 40 shots combined a game; however, the shocking stat is their field goal percentage on drives. Luka drives ~15 times a game attempting ~7 shots a game on 65% shooting, while Reaves drives ~13 times attempting ~6 shots on 68% shooting. These two are proving to be a bright duo.

• The one thing about the Lakers that has always irked me was their offense. The Lakers have been blessed with playmakers, but picking on individual defenders and isolations can only take you so far in the regular season. I would like to see the Lakers run more sets and swing the ball for open looks.'

• The Lakers embark on a road trip out east playing three games in four days: the Raptors, Celtics and 76ers. This is going to be a good test for this team, as the three listed teams compete and are some of the better coached teams in the league.

Memphis Grizzlies (9-12, 9th in the West) via Alex B

- It was a solid week for the Memphis Grizzlies, going 3-1 overall during the week, including winning their last three games and averaging 120 points per game during the streak.

- The most notable stat of the week came on Sunday night during a 115-107 win over the Sacramento Kings where 2nd year pro Zach Edey put up 32 points (16-20 shooting) 17 rebounds, and 5 blocks. To put that into perspective, the last three pros to achieve over 30 points, over 15 rebounds, over three blocks, and over 75 FG% were Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Dwight Howard.

- A big reason for the Grizzlies success on the court has been the emergence of Jaylen Wells. Over the last six games, he has averaged 16 PPG, 54.5 FG%, 50% from 3, 3.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG, while being a +70.

- Memphis is still awaiting an update on Ja Morant's calf injury, but with the way the Grizzlies are playing right now, it might be best to let him rest and see if the trade value rises if that is the route Memphis wants to turn to.

Minnesota Timberwolves (12-8, 6th in the West) via Spencer C

• The Wolves are coming off two of the worst back to back losses I’ve ever seen as a fan. We were up double digits with about a minute left against both the Suns and Kings, then completely forgot how to play basketball. Instead of closing out, we chucked up prayers and melted down. I’m still stunned we managed to lose both.

• On the bright side, Anthony Edwards looks incredible. He’s dropped 40+ in two straight, and even though they were losses, it’s encouraging to see him scoring that efficiently.

• But Chris Finch has to be on the hot seat at this point. His late  game decision making has been brutal, and combined with some awful turnovers, it cost us both games. I don’t know how to defend him anymore.

• We head to OKC on Wednesday, and I actually have faith we bounce back. I think the Wolves win and cover, and if Edwards and McDaniels can stay out of foul trouble, they should both go over their point totals.

New Orleans Pelicans (3-18, 15th in the West) via Colby J

• The Pelicans continue to struggle to stay in the win column or off the injury report as New Orleans has lost 12 of their last 13 games. Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Jordan Poole, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray, and Kevon Looney have played in 63 of a possible 126 games so far this season. Those 6 players combine for $148 Million on the cap sheet, which is 80% of the team’s 2025-26 payroll. How can any team be successful with this formula? 

• The lack of continuity and a veteran presence in the backcourt has killed the Pelicans offense as they are ranked 29th in AST% and are in the bottom five of almost every offensive statistic. 

• Derik Queen’s hot start to his rookie campaign has cooled off a bit as over the last 3 games he’s only averaging 9 PPG with 4 RPG and 4 APG. Zion’s return from injury along with Yves Missi’s recent uptick in playing time has lowered Queen’s usage rate and MPG (hopefully only temporarily). 

• Jeremiah Fears is the future at PG for the Pels. At 19 years old, he’s already one of the quickest guards in the league and can get into the paint with ease. In Fears last 10 games he’s averaging 17 PPG on an efficient 46% from the field and 41% from 3. 

• Saddiq Bey has been one of the only dependable parts of the Pelicans so far this year, he’s got a Double-Double in 4 of his last 5 games, while averaging 19/10 on 39% from 3. 

• 3rd year guard Bryce McGowens has been added to the rotation and he’s taking advantage of his opportunity as he scored a career high 23 points against the Lakers on Sunday night. 

• The Pels will have B2B home games against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves this week before traveling to Brooklyn on Saturday to take on the Nets. 

Oklahoma City Thunder (20-1, 1st in the West) via Nick C

• At 20–1 with a 12-game win streak, the Thunder has become just the fourth team in NBA history to start 20–1 or better through 21 games — joining the 1969–70 Knicks, 1993–94 Rockets, and 2015–16 Warriors — and owns the best record in the league.  

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored 20+ points in 93 straight regular-season games, the second-longest streak ever behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 126, while averaging 32.5 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on 54.5% shooting this season.  

• To underscore the Thunder’s dominance, Oklahoma City owns roughly a +17.0 net rating (No. 1 in the NBA) with about a 121.0 offensive rating (top five) and 104.0 defensive rating (No. 1), so Thunder isn’t just winning but statistically dominating both sides of the ball.  

• Chet Holmgren has quietly been playing at a near-All-Star level, averaging about 16.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks over the past month and most recently putting up 23 points and 8 boards vs Phoenix, then 19 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks in Portland to anchor both ends.  

• Even with Jalen Williams returning last week, Isaiah Hartenstein went down with an injury the game prior, meaning the Thunder STILL won’t have it’s actual starting five for the first time until closer to Christmas — assuming the other 4 healthy starters remain healthy.

Phoenix Suns (13-9, 7th in the West) via Connor F

• More Injuries! Devin Booker injured his groin (non-sexually) against the Lakers and is out likely 1-3 weeks. He joins Jalen Green and Grayson Allen as guys dealing with injuries. 

• Colin Gillespie and Dillon Brooks have continued to carry the offensive load for the Suns. Scoring 61(!) points combined versus the Lakers on Monday night.

• Phoenix Suns are ranked 9th in Point Differential (+4.5)  according to Cleaning the Glass (non Garbage Time).

• They are also 2nd(!) in Spread Diff. (+12.3) according to Cleaning the Glass, landing them as one of the safest teams to bet on so far this early portion of the season.

Portland Trail Blazers (8-12, 10th in the West) via Casey G

• Weird week for the Blazers, as they only had two games and didn’t perform well in either of them. Shaedon Sharpe returned and played 21 and 22 minutes in each game after missing the previous four games.

• The one positive for the team continues to be Den Avdija, as he comes off a 30 point triple double in the last outing

• The Blazers need to get healthy to have any hope at a play in run, and should be getting back Scoot Henderson soon. 

• Donovan Clingan missed a game with an illness but looks to be returning tonight. Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday continue to be out.

Sacramento Kings (5-16, 13th in the West) via Ben M

• Still looking for constant starting rotation to be able to compete with the rest of the association 

• They're on a 3 game losing streak and fans are being thrown out of the stadium for criticizing Team effort 

• Sabonis is still the workhorse of the team averaging 21 pts 9.7 rebounds and 3 assists over the last 10 games 

• Malik Monk has been a little banged up over the last week and could use some rest in the coming weeks he is averaging 13 pts a game and shooting 40% from 3 point range 

• Locker room still swirling with trade rumors but so far are still just rumors at the same time no trade would be surprising at this point 

San Antonio Spurs (13-6, 5th in the West) via Rob G

• The Spurs went 2-1 since last weeks update and clinched the west group C.

• The return of rookie gaurd Dylan Harper reminds you of the depth spurs have once fully healthy. He's come off the bench and been a player they can trust with the ball in his hands, something they haven't had since the years of Patty Mills.  His numbers aren't going to wow you, he averages 13.3 pts, 3 assists and 3 rebounds a game in just 21 min a game.  But his ability to come in and run the team allows the Spurs to hold onto leads where years before they would lose them.  Still needs work shooting the 3 and midrange, but he can attack the rim and finish with either hand.

• Devin Vassell this past week has come up clutch helping the Spurs advance to the knockout stages in the NBA cup, he averaged 26.6 these past 3 games which is a big difference from his season average of 15.9.  He hit big shot after big shot against Denver when it mattered something that I can't say I ever remember him doing before.  If he can keep this up the Spurs will be a legit contender in the west.

• De'Aaron Fox has been as consistent as consistent can be, averaging 24.1 ppg and only scoring under 20 points twice and over 30 once this season. (Of course it would be when I bet him to score over 21)  He shoots 49.5% from the field and 36% from 3.5 reb and 6.6 assists a game. 

• There's been some reports saying Wemby and Castle could return as early as this Tuesday against the Grizzlies, but nothing for sure as of now.  When they return it'll be the first time this team has had everyone healthy all season and as a Spurs fan Im just excited to see how they will all play together. 

Utah Jazz (7-13, 11th in the West) via Collin T

• Keyonte George did his part — even in losses. In the Warriors game he poured in 28 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting, showing he’s capable of carrying much of the offense. However…turnovers are becoming his every day flaw.

• Lauri Markkanen and George flexed in the win vs. Houston. Markkanen had 29 points, George added 28 + 8 assists, and they both hit big shots late. That game showed what Utah’s ceiling can be when its stars click.

• But when things go wrong, the supporting cast hasn’t been consistent. In the 129–101 loss to Houston, aside from a 19-point night by Ace Bailey (which he is playing well, getting better and better by the day), many role-players struggled to produce…cough cough Svi, Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski. which made the Jazz offense one-dimensional and easier to defend. 

• Defensive lapses and turnovers have haunted Utah, especially in the blowout loss. Against Houston on Nov. 30, Jazz gave up a lot of fast-break points and struggled to contain drives and rebounds. That forced their stars to try to do too much.

• When Utah shares the ball and hits shots, they look dangerous. In the win vs. Rockets, not just their top two, but seven players scored in double figures — which speaks to depth, ball movement, and potential balance. Isaiah Collier and a few minutes from Walter Clayton Jr. has really shown how ball movement is producing for this team. 

• Though they keep winning they still manage to lose…which in my opinion is right on par for the year. The tank is on.

That's all for the Western Conference update. Stay tuned Friday for the Eastern Conference and thanks for reading!