There has been a lot of talk about Oklahoma City being the danger team in the west and how San Antonio are primed to make a late run at the title.

These arguments are flawed on two counts – on recent form, neither team looks like being a threat in the western playoffs and it's a massive show of disrespect to the two teams who've clearly been the been the standout performers in the conference all season, Golden State and Memphis.

Sure, the Spurs must be respected as the reigning champions and a team with a long history of proving their critics wrong in the post-season.

And the Thunder have made some promising trades recently which give them a better shot at reversing their recent trend of playoff fade-outs.

But what more can the Warriors and Grizzlies do to get due recognition.

Golden State are an NBA-best 44-10 and have won eight of their past 10 matches.

The Grizzlies are 41-15, including seven of their last 10, to be the third-best overall, also trailing Eastern Conference surprise packets Atlanta (45-12).

San Antonio have been banged up all season with Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills spending significant time on the bench but despite having a healthy roster recently, they have still failed to fire, losing four straight to sit in seventh spot in the west at 34-23.

OKC have put together a seven-game winning streak either side of the All-Star break to claim eighth spot for the first time this season at 32-25. They will almost certainly cement the last playoff spot and possibly rise higher than eighth due to the poorly coached Pelicans and trade-depleted Suns dropping behind them in the pecking order.

There has been plenty of debate about how teams at the top of the west will be concerned about facing the Spurs or OKC in the first round of the playoffs and some pundits have ludicrously aired the idea that teams might try to lose matches to avoid these two opponents.

It is San Antonio and the Thunder who should be worried if they finish in the bottom two slots of the western bracket and have to face either the Warriors or Grizzlies.

New coach Steve Kerr has reinvented Golden State's offence this season while retaining the defensive commitment instilled by his predecessor Mark Jackson.

The result is a juggernaut with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson forming the most potent backcourt in the league while Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green and Andre Iguoudala form the nucleus of one of the best defensive squads.

Apart from Green, it's nothing new from these players but Kerr has not only enhanced their strengths but made them all better all-round talents in the process.

Nobody wants to face Memphis.

They be scary.

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol leave more opposing big men bruised and battered than any other front-court duo in the association.

Point guard Mike Conley is criminally under-rated and role players like Tony Allen, the rejuvenated Courtney Lee and trade acquisition Jeff Green mean they have few weaknesses, if any.

Third-placed Houston (39-18) are being carried by James Harden's career year but with reliability questions around Dwight Howard, the Rockets may not be able to overcome either of their higher-ranked opponents in the playoffs.

Portland (37-19) are the dark horse, especially following the recent trade for Denver swingman Arron Aflalo, who gives their bench some much-needed oomph.

Dallas (39-21) have started to tread water after the honeymoon period following the Rajon Rondo trade has well and truly worn off.

The LA Clippers (37-21) have been uninspiring most of the season – someone needs to tell Blake Griffin it's great you've worked on your jump-shot so your outside scoring is better than it was (which was coming off a low base) but you are an athletic freak of nature.

If he gets back to focusing on using his natural gifts around the paint, he will strike fear into opponents, rims and backboards throughout the NBA.

But if he continues to settle for mid-range jumpers, rival players and coaches will have to get out their poker faces to suppress their urge to grin from ear to ear.

So the next time someone tries to tell you San Antonio and Thunder should be making the top teams nervous, tell them to stop and think about it.

Yes, the Spurs and Oklahoma City deserve respect but when it comes to the crunch, this season's form suggests the Western Conference finals will feature the flamboyant force that is Golden State up against the grit and grind of the Grizzlies.