Of course, there's been a lot of competition in the Western Conference for years, in comparison to the east. But I agree that there is an unusual degree of parity this season between the eight teams below Golden State/Houston. Those seemingly close eight teams are competing for just six spots.
And then you have the Lakers, who are suddenly playing a much higher level post-trade with the Cavs. They lost two very good players in Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson, but have now elevated their play enough to compete against Portland (close loss tonight in a game they probably should have won), San Antonio (destroyed them two nights ago), OKC (beat them twice since the trade), etc. Starting Julius Randle has been big for them, and Isaiah Thomas has played some good games off the bench. Lakers aren't a playoff contender, because they have already dug themselves into a hole; they just add to the level of parity in the Western Conference.
It's too bad Doc Rivers coaches the cursed and always snake-bitten Clippers. I consider him a Top 5 NBA coach with a ton of bad luck.