They appear to be worse than the 6 teams ahead of them and better than all the other teams fighting for the 8 spot. There's obviously enough time left in the season where that could change, but I think they end up as the 7. This poll is basically asking who you think the 2nd best team is among those listed.

VERY tight race for the 8 seed. I average RAPTOR and ELO forecasts from 538 along w/ BPI forecast from ESPN. When doing so, it results in the Pelicans, Blazers, Spurs, and Grizzlies all finishing tied for 8th with a 36-46 record. 8th place team would be 10 games behind 7th place Thunder (46-36). 14th place Suns (31-51) would only be 5 games out of 8th place. Very different year than what we're used to in the West. The top of the conference is about as good and competitive as it's ever been, but it really drops off after the top 6 or 7 teams much more than in previous years.