A month has gone by since opening night. We’re almost at the 20% mark of the season. And in the Western Conference youth Devonta Freeman Jersey , some 14 of the 15 teams are still in position to chase a playoff spot.This isn’t really an exaggeration, either: the No. 14 Timberwolves are 2.5 games out of No. 8 and just 3.5 games out of No. 4. The No. 13 Mavericks are a half-game better and just beat the Jazz -- a 2018 playoff team -- by 50. Four teams are tied at 7-7 at the No. 9 spot. Can you imagine if 12 Western Conference teams finished the season at .500 or better, with four of them missing the playoffs? (Because you’re wondering: the East has seven teams at .500 or better, and four teams essentially out of the playoff chase. If the current pace held, the East would advance one team below .500 to the playoffs while the West would send four teams at .500 or better to the lottery.)Who is going to drop out of this Western pack? Most would point to the Mavericks (who were approaching calls for tankdom a week ago but rebounded) and Kings (who keep defying gravity). The Timberwolves would be a stronger candidate for a crash if they hadn’t won both games since the Jimmy Butler trade with Karl-Anthony Towns playing like an All-NBA center. The Clippers and Grizzlies have been the best versions of themselves despite offseason doubts. The Spurs survived, and the Pelicans are getting enough from the players around Anthony Davis.Injuries could totally knock a couple teams out of the race and give us a smaller pool to work from. So could unstoppable regression to the mean. But until that happens, this is a pretty wild and deep race for the playoffs among the entire Western Conference except for the Suns. ScoresWarriors 86, Rockets 107Hawks 93, Nuggets 138Spurs 111, Clippers 116ScheduleOn Friday:Raptors at Celtics, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNJazz at Sixers, 7 p.m. ET, League PassKings at Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET, League PassBlazers at Timberwolves, 8 p.m. ET, League PassBulls at Bucks, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNOn Saturday:Nuggets at Pelicans, 7 p.m. ET, League PassJazz at Celtics Stitched Devonta Freeman Jersey , 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TVKings at Rockets, 8 p.m. ET, League PassOn Sunday:Grizzlies at Timberwolves, 3:30 p.m. ET, League PassWarriors at Spurs, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TVFull schedule here.LinksMike Prada with a deep dive video breakdown of Nikola Jokic, the unicorn with the dad bod.The Rockets acknowledged on Thursday that they are parting ways with Carmelo Anthony. Houston’s front office is trying to put Melo in the best light possible, and it looks like they may try to work out a trade that Melo agrees to instead of putting him on waivers for anyone to think briefly about picking up before letting it pass. Draymond Green made a statement and refused to answer questions on Thursday; Paul Flannery reads between the lines of Green’s most pertinent quotes. Why the Warriors really suspended Draymond: he cut too deep on the free agency issue. What’s Draymond’s trade value? How the drama shows Stephen Curry’s cultural importance to the Warriors. Nathaniel Friedman on how emotions work in sports. Brian Windhorst calls Durant the most powerful man in basketball.Zito Madu on the simple beauty of teams blowing huge leads.Kelly Dwyer on Jimmy Butler’s fit on the Sixers. If you love basketball, you should really subscribe to KD’s The Second Arrangement, such a pleasant email each day.Joe Vardon spent a day at LeBron’s I Promise School and writes about James’ true legacy.Zion Williamson’s Duke dunks, ranked.Part of the Magic’s decent start has been all about Terrence Ross’s triumphant return.Some awesome Kings fans are raising money for Camp Fire victims. Help out, if you can.Rob Mahoney on Victor Oladipo. Click.How the Spurs can fix their post-up problem.Imani McGee-Stafford of the Atlanta Dream on how hard it is to play basketball in China.Unionized athletes keep crossing picket lines.Be excellent to each other. We like the class, mostly, but we do have some questions." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteThe Falcoholican Atlanta Falcons communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsLibraryFalconsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕What The Falcoholic staff thinks of the 2019 Falcons draft class New,80commentsWe like the class, mostly, but we do have some questions. EDTShareTweetShareShareWhat The Falcoholic staff thinks of the 2019 Falcons draft class Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesThe Falcons want their offense to be unstoppable. The defense? Not as much.Favorite Pick: Chris LindstromMost Questionable Pick: Jordan MillerI’m excited the Falcons finally, truly addressed the offensive line. No more patchwork lines of late round draft picks, cheap veterans, an an occasional above-average blocker. If the plan was to build one of the best lines in the NFL Black Giorgio Tavecchio Jersey , then mission (probably) accomplished. My biggest question is why the team decided to double dip at corner and ignore adding a defensive tackle. Atlanta went heavy on offense and ignored outstanding defensive issues. —Matt ChambersDan Quinn thinks he’s a wizard Favorite Pick: Chris LindstromMost Questionable Pick: Qadree OllisonThe Falcons didn’t set out to be popular, and they didn’t set out to fix a defensive front seven they think just needs health and some good ol’ Dan Quinn magic to turn into a terrific unit. That’s a questionable decision, in my opinion, but the Falcons did get terrific athletes along the offensive line and at cornerback, setting themselves up to be great at both spots in the near future. I also really like the pick of John Cominsky, but as good as Ollison and as intriguing as Green look, I can’t figure out why it was necessary to use draft capital on a pair of offensive skill position players, especially running backs. The Falcons have told us repeatedly to trust that changes to the coaching staff will yield better results, and now we’re just left to wait and see if that plus some beef on the OL will do the trick. — Dave ChoateThe Falcons are remaking their offensive line—and I’m excited about it.Favorite Pick: OT Kaleb McGaryMost Questionable Pick: RB Qadree OllisonAs is tradition, I’ve really come around on this draft class after a little processing time. I think the additions of G Chris Lindstrom and OT Kaleb McGary are both excellent, and could be far more impactful in 2019 than fans realize. Lindstrom has the potential to be a top-tier guard immediately. After doing a little bit of a deeper dive on McGary’s unconventional technique, I think he’ll be the player that winds up surprising us all. He’s physical, athletic, and nasty—exactly the type of player that the Falcons want on their offensive line.The problem with this draft is the lack of an immediate impact addition to the defense. That being said, I do like all of Atlanta’s Day 3 defensive additions. CB Kendall Sheffield is raw, but might be the fastest player in the class—I love his potential as an elite slot CB in 2020 and beyond. EDGE John Cominsky is exactly the type of player that Quinn and TD love to add late in drafts: great size, fantastic athleticism, but significantly lacking in technique. CB Jordan Miller fell due to medical concerns, but he’s a talented outside option that could play a lot better (and sooner) than fans realize.The head-scratcher for me was RB Qadree Ollison in the early fifth round. Ollison is a big, physical back with good speed for his size and solid vision, but I thought there were better options on the board. I actually like the sixth-round pick, RB Marcus Green Giorgio Tavecchio Jersey 2019 , better—he’s a versatile WR/RB hybrid that has elite athleticism, and he’s the favorite to be the team’s returner in 2019. The lack of additions to the defensive line, however, mean that the pressure is on to mold the pieces that the Falcons already have into a competent unit. Can Quinn do it? We’ll see. Quinn and Dimitroff’s jobs may depend on it. — Kevin KnightAnother draft that requires patience and trust Favorite Pick: Kaleb McGary or John Cominsky Most Questionable Pick: A guard at 14 (though I like Chris Lindstrom as a player)The Falcons haven’t made me feel this way about a draft class since 2016. I was proven very wrong then, and I’m accounting that my “it’s pretty good!” reaction will only get better when the season gets going and we see the fruits of this draft class. The team has a great track record with secondary players, which gives me hope that Kendall Sheffield and Jordan Miller will be ready to go when the time comes. Qadree Ollison and Marcus Green are good depth pieces. I love Kaleb McGary’s tenacity, potential and be-a-bully mantra; the team has needed an offensive lineman like that for a long time. John Cominsky feels like a Dan Quinn special; the kind of raw athlete he can coach up into someone people double-take at being drafted in the fourth round. It’s the guard pick at 14 I still don’t get. This team is projecting a lot for its defensive line to make a turnaround with the minimal investments they’ve made. They also paid two guards good starting money, and with Chris Lindstrom now here, one of them is destined for the bench. He’s an improvement on that plan, though, and I think Lindstrom will be a very good player. I love that the offensive line looks pretty complete on paper. I really do! But a lacking pass rush can lose you championships (*leers into the distance*). Why not invest there with the top pick with good names left? I just don’t see the complete reasoning for some of the offseason right now. To be fair, I didn’t in 2016, either. - Cory Woodroof Protect the MVPFavorite Pick: OG Chris LindstromMost Questionable Pick: RB/WR Marcus GreenI mentioned in The Falcoholic Roundtable: 2019 First Round Mock Draft “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the current Atlanta Falcons staff and management, it’s that they’re very unpredictable.” – and they were exactly that during the 2019 NFL Draft.My favorite pick was the selection of Chris Lindstrom out of Boston College. Although like most people, I was initially thrown off, the Falcons made it clear that they wanted to protect Matt Ryan. Lindstrom is someone who can start for the Falcons for the next decade, and they’ll need it as Matt Ryan was sacked 42 times in 2018. The current complaint among most fans is the Falcons not selecting a defensive tackle. The Falcons have plenty of depth at defensive tackle, with new additions like Tyeler Davison and Ra’Shede Hageman. Most importantly, veteran Jack Crawford is a perfect complement to Grady Jarrett. Crawford had career-highs in both tackles and sacks last season, and even recorded his first ever interception. Dan Quinn was very high on Jack Crawford, which you can read by clicking here. — Evan Birchfield