NBA Western Conference Playoff Preview

The defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets are positioned as the betting favorite at Caesars sportsbook to once again represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, but in reality it’s there for the taking. Denver and the Oklahoma City Thunder both finished the season with 57 wins, one more than the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks also reached the 50-win mark. The bottom half of the 10-team bracket that will play beyond the regular season isn’t too bad, either. The 10th place Golden State Warriors finished tied with Sacramento with 46 wins. Matchups and the health of star players will have an impact on what team survives.

If playoff experience means anything the Thunder and Timberwolves have some growing up to do. Just two years removed from a 24-win campaign, OKC is ahead of schedule in its rebuild ending a three-year playoff drought. The combined number of playoff games on the Thunder roster is less than what LeBron James has played during his career. 

While it’s not quite the same, fighting for the No. 1 seed over the last few months likely got OKC prepped for playoff-like basketball. And the team rose to the occasion winning its last five regular season games to clinch the tie-breaker over Denver. OKC posted its most wins since reaching the West Finals in 2013-14 with 59 wins. Their five starters are all 25 and under and each one averaged more than 10 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerged as a MVP candidate averaging 30.1 points in 75 games. 

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NBA Odds To Win Western Conference

Denver Nuggets +132

Dallas Mavericks +640

Los Angeles Clippers +660

Oklahoma City Thunder +660

Minnesota Timberwolves +850

Phoenix Suns +915

Los Angeles Lakers +1350

Golden State Warriors +3700

New Orleans Pelicans +3700

Sacramento Kings +11074

The Clippers traded away future NBA draft picks for Paul George a few years ago and James Harden earlier this season, showing their commitment to a title run. The veteran group badly needs Kawhi Leonard healthy. The former NBA Finals MVP missed the last few weeks of the regular season dealing with knee soreness and has another week to recover before the start of the first round. The Clips became a trendy NBA Finals pick during a two-month stretch in the middle of the season that saw them win 26 of 31 games. 

They slowed over the last month prompting coach Tyronn Lue to say he was more concerned about his teams health than their playoff seeding. And this might be the best chance for superstars Harden, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to win a title. The Clips have a difficult road, though, starting with a first round NBA playoff matchup against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. One of the top three favorites will go home early.

Even though they finished third in the conference just one game behind the leaders, the Timberwolves aren’t getting much respect. The loss of Karl-Anthony Towns impacted their chances and NBA odds as did an offense that ranked 18th in scoring and 17th in efficiency. Towns returned in the last weekend of the regular season and showed signs of rust, but having him back in the lineup is a boost. Former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Anthony Edwards averaged 26 points and needs to score for the team to be successful.

The play-in tournament has been captivating in its brief existence, but no team from the conference has advanced to the NBA Finals after competing in the play-in. The Los Angeles Lakers reached the conference final last year but were swept by the Nuggets. Two of the four most recent NBA champions are involved in the play-in with the Lakers and Warriors looking to make history. And both teams have big parts of those title teams still on the floor. 

With Anthony Davis and James, the Lakers boast a punishing frontcourt. They also got hot down the stretch winning 11 of their last 14 regular season games. Competing in the play-in isn’t ideal for a veteran team, but AD and James combined to average more than 50 points while each playing more than 70 games. The Warriors also have a battle-tested core led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Do the Splash Brothers have another championship run in them? NBA odds suggest no, but stranger things have happened.

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