NBA 2018-19: 3 teams in danger of missing out on the Western Conference playoffs

This year's Western Conference is gearing up to be one of the most competitive in the history of the NBA. While the Eastern Conference consists mostly of teams that are stuck in multi-year rebuild projects, the West is the home of franchises that want to compete now.

Aside from the abysmal Phoenix Suns, every other team in the West has a realistic shot at making the 2019 postseason, and this has contributed to an incredibly exciting season so far.

Every franchise in the West has already won at least 13 games (except the Suns), and the 8th placed Portland Trail Blazers are currently just 3.5 games back from the Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.

With the West more competitive than ever, a few notable teams are set to miss out on the postseason. Here are the three biggest franchises that may not feature in the 2019 playoffs.

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#3 Utah Jazz

Donovan Mitchell has struggled in the early part of the season

After a difficult start to the 2017-18 NBA season, the Utah Jazz were able to pull themselves together, as the team embarked on an impressive run which was enough to secure an unlikely 5th place finish. The Jazz were even more impressive in the postseason, and their performance led many NBA experts to predict that the team could soon become a threat to the Warriors and the Rockets.

However, despite the hype surrounding Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz this season, they have struggled for consistency and are currently 12th in the standings, with a win rate of just 483. The team are struggling offensively, and their once formidable home advantage has evaporated, as they are currently 5-6 when playing at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Jazz's offense will need to step up soon, or the most impressive team from the 2017-18 season will find themselves left out of the postseason.

#2 Houston Rockets

James Harden leads the league in points-per-game, but the Rockets are still struggling

The Rockets started the season slowly, although their early season stutters were partly due to injuries and a tough schedule. It was also widely believed within the organization that the team's performances would improve when they instructed Carmelo Anthony to find a new team after just 10 games.

After the departure of Melo, the Rockets embarked on a six-game winning streak, but they have since returned to their inconsistent ways. The Rockets and are currently outside the playoff places, having lost 6 of their last 10 games.

Carmelo Anthony wasn't the root of the Rockets issues after all. Now the team must try and find some sort of solution, as they are in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

New additions are likely this month, but the Rockets might struggle to acquire a game-changer thanks to their already bloated wage bill.

#1 San Antonio Spurs

LaMarcus Aldridge will find it difficult to drag the Spurs into the playoffs

While many expected the Spurs to miss out on the 2018 NBA playoffs, Gregg Popovich was able to miraculously guide the team to a seventh-place finish in the regular season standings. The team was comfortably beaten in the first round by the eventual winners (Warriors), but it was a huge accomplishment for the Spurs to get that far, especially since star man Kawhi Leonard missed nearly the entire season.

Last season's playoff appearance means that the Spurs have now featured in the postseason for 21 consecutive years, although the current Spurs roster is the worst of the Popovich era. Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili all left during the summer, and the team's only major addition was All-Star DeMar DeRozan.

Popovich has so far managed to guide the team to a 15-14 record, but the amount of competition could mean that the Spurs finally miss out on the postseason.