We’ve discussed the the Eastern Conference, now let’s get into the new Western Conference. With so much hype surrounding Dame and Jrue and their new homes, the Western Conference hasn’t been talked about much.
Plenty has changed in the Western Conference. New faces, new teams, and possibly new contenders. Let’s get into it.
Divisional Odds Breakdown & Best Bets
Today we’re going to talk about the other conference, the Western Conference. Give you a quick breakdown of the divisional odds for each team, and our divisional best bets.
The Northwest Division
The Nuggets enter the 2023/2024 season as one of the favorites to win it all, and repeat as Champions. They’re also the biggest favorite among all division winners, so obviously we’re not eating that much juice.
The Northwest Division, currently as it sits, is probably the weakest of the three Western Conference divisions; comparable to the Southeast Division.
Last season, just two teams from this division made the playoffs, but with multiple up and coming young teams, expect this division to get better and quickly.
Division Winner via Bovada
- Denver Nuggets (-550)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (+650)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (+850)
- Utah Jazz (+4000)
- Portland Trail Blazers (+15000)
Oklahoma City Thunder to Win the NWest Division (+800) via Bovada
Now its really hard to take anyone outside of the Nuggets to win the Northwest, but at (-550) it’s unplayable. So instead we’re going to pivot to the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder.
So much good stuff to say about this Thunder team. The movement towards youth and development has proven to be genius.
Shai’s coming into 2023/24 after averaging 31.4 ppg last season, and we saw Josh Giddey start 76 games and average 16.6/7.9R/6.3A in his sophomore season. Now they add a fully healthy Chet Holmgren, with a full season of NBA training.
This Thunder team is primed to make some noise this season, similarly to how we saw the Kings play last season. Well they may not win the division; the value still remains.
Oklahoma City Thunder to Win the Northwest Division (+800) via Bovada
Pacific Division
Last season we saw the Kings win their first division title in 20 years. Yeah, they hadn’t won the division since 2002/2003. Even the Clippers have more division titles in that same span of time.
Lots of people had the Kings making noise last year, but very few that had them actually winning the Pacific Division.
The Kings finished 48-38, three games ahead of the Suns, four games ahead of the Warriors/Clippers, and 5 games ahead of the Lakers.
The Pacific division is one of the toughest in all sports, all five teams made the post-season last year; three making it to the second round. It’s stacked with talent, guys like Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and De’Aaron Fox; and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Division Winner via Bovada
- Phoenix Suns (+175)
- Golden State Warriors (+300)
- Los Angeles Lakers (+375)
- Los Angeles Clippers (+475)
- Sacremento Kings (+800)
Phoenix Suns to Win the Pacific Division (+175) via Bovada
Chalk, it sucks. But this is easily the hardest division to both pick a winner, and find some value. Each team has a decent chance to take the division title, but with so much new personnel on each team it’s tough to get a read.
The Suns enter 2023/2024 with two, current, Top 10 players in the league. Kevin Durant will enter his first full season with the Suns, and enters his first training camp with the team.
New Head Coach, Frank Vogel comes in with plenty of experience managing stars and winning games. Vogel last coached for the Lakers, and was behind the bench for their 2020 NBA Title.
Booker averaged 29 ppg, post KD Trade, and 33.7 in 11 playoff games together. These two feed off each other, and KD has helped Book elevate his game ANOTHER level.
Let’s not forget about the addition of sharp shooter, and pure scorer Bradley Beal. While last season was a down year for Beal, playing for a new team with championship aspirations should provide new motivation.
Chalk sucks, but with value lacking across the board in the Pacific, we’re gonna ride with KD and the Suns.
Phoenix Suns to Win the Pacific Division (+175) via Bovada
Southwest Division
The Grizzlies are coming off back to back Division Crowns, but enter this season without Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the year.
With relatively the same roster as last year, the Grizzlies look primed for a repeat if they can manage to weather the storm without Morant.
Teams like the Mavericks and Pelicans will look to take advantage of his absence and possibly stack some wins early in the year.
The Mavericks now enter 2023/2024 with a full training camp for this new squad. They brought in Kyrie Irving at the deadline, but won just 8 of the 20 games Kyrie played; eventually missing the playoffs.
The Pelicans hope to finally have their first full season with all their young stars healthy. This New Orleans squad is stacked with talent, and young guys that just want to win basketball games.
While the injury issues are very real, if they can put together at least 65+ games each, from their top 3 of Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and CJ MCCollum; they could make some noise.
Division Winner via Bovada
- Dallas Mavericks (+160)
- Memphis Grizzlies (+165)
- New Orleans Pelicans (+250)
- Houston Rockets (+3000)
- San Antonio Spurs (4000)
New Orleans Pelicans to Win the Southwest Division (+250) via Bovada
With all the questions that surround the Mavericks, and the fit between Luka and Kyrie; in addition to Morant missing the first 25 games of the year, I’m loving the number on the Pelicans.
The Pelicans remain stifled by just health issues. Zion played just 29 games last year, with Brandon Ingram only playing in 45.
If they can just put together a full season from their stars, the Pelicans could be cooking with fireworks.
New Orleans Pelicans to Win the Southwest Division (+250) via Bovada
Check out our 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Divisional Preview, Predictions, & Best Bets
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