配图为AI生成示意图，非新闻现场图片。

The Western Conference race has an early subplot worth monitoring: three undefeated teams. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (125-114 over Phoenix), the Houston Rockets (120-110 over Atlanta), and the Memphis Grizzlies (110-105 over Utah) all improved to 4-0 on the same night, October 26.

Oklahoma City's win was a showcase of champion depth. Ajay Mitchell led the Thunder with 30 points while Jalen Green's 20 kept Phoenix competitive — but OKC's offense simply has too many answers. The scoring load rotates, the defense never rests its intensity, and opponents keep running out of defensive schemes before the Thunder run out of options.

Houston's victory ran through its center of gravity — literally. Alperen Sengun posted 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, operating as the fulcrum of everything the Rockets do. Atlanta had no answers for his low-post footwork or his high-post playmaking.

Memphis earned the grittiest result: 110-105 over a spirited Utah side led by Keyonte George's 26 points and 6 assists. Coward's 16-point, 11-rebound double-double embodied the Grizzlies' balance — no single star carrying the load, just a deep rotation refusing to lose.

Three teams, three philosophies, one shared record.

The synchronized start carries historical weight. Defending champions typically face the league's most motivated opposition every night, yet Oklahoma City has not merely survived that target on its back — it has buried opponents before the fourth quarter mattered. Houston's quick start validates an offseason spent building around Sengun rather than away from him, and Memphis's 4-0 includes games decided by five points or fewer, the kind of wins that coaches treat as character evidence.

The rest of the West is already fighting gravity. Golden State's first win arrived only after an 0-3 skid, Denver's defensive issues surfaced in a 20-point home loss, and several projected playoff teams are still searching for their identity. The gap between the top three and the chasing pack is currently as much philosophical as numerical — the leaders are winning in the ways they planned to win.

Schedule makers have been unkind to the undefeated trio's fans: the first intra-group matchup is still weeks away, meaning the standings will carry an asterisk of untested comparison until then. When it comes, the tactical adjustments — how defenses deploy against Sengun's fulcrum, how Memphis handles OKC's depth, how Houston's shooters respond to loaded paint — will preview the playoff chess that decides the West.

Editor's Take: Early records deceive, but playing styles do not. The Thunder's decentralization is the most durable asset in the conference: when your fourth option can deliver 30 points on any night, defensive game plans become guesswork, and guesswork loses in the playoffs. Houston's center-centric model is the most scheme-resistant: Sengun's elbow creation forces opponents to defend actions most teams no longer drill — a structural edge that lasts until the league catches up. Memphis's balance is the most playoff-relevant trait of all: teams that win close games (110-105 counts) are rehearsing for April. The caveat is sample size: four games tell you about identity, not destiny, and all three clubs face schedule ramps that will stress-test their rotations. But the early read on the West is unmistakable — the defending champs look deeper, the Rockets look stranger to defend, and the Grizzlies look tougher late. That trio's first head-to-heads will be the most technically interesting basketball of the season's first month.

Information sources: ESPN (reported October 27, 2026).