The Western Conference is massively changing in front of our eyes, and we’re entering the 2019-20 campaign with a new odds-on favorite to win the West to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in four years. That’s right, it’s no longer the Golden State Warriors, something that we’ve grown accustomed to for nearly half of a decade now.
As far as who the favorites are entering the new season, that status belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers, who would create the biggest wave in free agency picking up both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. If you need a reminder, Leonard is fresh off of an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors.
According to the online sportsbook Bovada, the Los Angeles Clippers take the top spot in the odds to win the Western Conference at +200 odds. If they do accomplish that feat, it’ll be their first appearance in the NBA Finals in the history of the franchise. After the Clippers in second place comes their Hollywood rival and the other half of Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers, at +260 with their addition of Anthony Davis to mix in with LeBron James. In third place comes the Houston Rockets led by James Harden and Russell Westbrook at +500, and the Golden State Warriors don’t make a showing until the No. 4 position at +650. Rounding out the top five are the Utah Jazz at +650 odds.
Let’s break down the state of the Western Conference in the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season, followed by my prediction to represent the West in the NBA Finals, as well as my long shot pick to ride with for major profitability. Who do you have as your Western Conference champions? After you read and get your advice from me, you can then place your bets over at one of the top NBA betting sites for who you think will win the crown.
For the past few years now, both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers have been irrelevant as far as the entire landscape of the National Basketball Association and championships are concerned. However, coming into the new season, both the Hollywood franchises are No. 1 and No. 2 on the odds-board to win the Western Conference. And why not?
With the Clippers, they have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, while the Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Altogether, that’s four of the best players in the NBA, all ranked in the top 10. With the power moves both teams made in the offseason, it would completely change the outlook of the league, and that’s why we have the odds that we do. Both teams will certainly be in the mix for the Western Conference championship when it’s time for the postseason. It’s like the subheadline says: It’s bigger than Los Angeles, this is for the battle of the NBA.
Last season, the Clippers would achieve nearly a 50-win season with a total of 48, and they would accomplish that many victories in the Western Conference out of all places. As you know, this was done without both Leonard and George. Yeah, you read that right, the Los Angeles Clippers are absolutely loaded for the new season, and this is especially true considering the Clippers didn’t have to give up anybody in the offseason to add their two superstars.
Certainly the reason why the Clippers will be so successful this season will be the powers of both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but you also have to take a peep at their depth chart. When opposing teams bring on their backups, the Clippers have the likes of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell squaring off against them. As you see, the Clippers have the potential to become a very lethal team, and certainly deserve their top spot in the odds.
You have take the Los Angeles Lakers seriously here in the new campaign. LeBron would miss the NBA Playoffs for the first time since his sophomore season in the league, so you can be sure he has a ton of motivation on his side. And now they also have their new acquisition Anthony Davis to throw into the mix as well, who is debatably the best center in the NBA.
However, even though all of that sounds great and everything, the Lakers worry me a bit with their roster surrounding their two superstars. With that being said, I have to ride with the Clippers over the two Los Angeles teams. Not only do they have two superstars themselves, but the rest of the cast is stacked with talent. The Clippers are just the much stronger team all around.
Back in the offseason, the Lakers would hold out for Kawhi Leonard, but would ultimately end up empty-handed. What would happen in the process of this is the Lakers losing out on other top free agents, and they would be forced to settle for the scraps that were left over — average players at best.
The Lakers have some solid talent surrounding James and Davis such as Danny Green, Jared Dudley, and Avery Bradley, but after that, the roster falls off dramatically. This is especially true when you compare their team to the Clippers, as well as other top teams in the Western Conference. And also consider this: One injury to their core of players, and the season could easily be toast for the Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors have won the Western Conference championship for five straight years, winning three NBA championships in the process of this. I understand the landscape of the NBA has changed a bit with the Warriors losing Kevin Durant, but I’m a bit surprised that Golden State dropped all the way down to fourth on the odds-board at +650 odds. With that being the case though, there’s certainly a lot of profitability with this team. They still have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and if they can hang tight until at least All-Star break, they’ll be getting Klay Thompson to throw back into the rotation — certainly some value here.
With Durant now with the Brooklyn Nets and Thompson out due to injury, Steph Curry is sure to have an explosive season on the offensive side in 2019-20. As a matter of fact, he has the second-place odds to win the NBA MVP, but we’ll get to that a little later. On top of that, they’re still a force on the defensive side of things with Draymond Green on the team. As you see, they’re going to be massively effective on both offense and defense with Steph and Draymond alone. So as far as the Warriors declining, I’m not seeing it, not just yet. I would take advantage of those +650 odds if I were you, there’s no promise that they’ll go lower than that.
Going back to Klay Thompson, he’s the definitely the biggest factor when it comes to the overall success of the Golden State Warriors this season. Not only is it vital that Thompson returns successfully from his ACL injury, but it’s also important that D’Angelo Russell fills in well in Thompson’s absence and also mixes well with the team — chemistry is everything in the NBA, and basketball at that. Thompson is expected to be back around All-Star break, so if the trio of Steph, Draymond and Russell hold up, they’ll be in a sweet position when Klay comes back. If they’re in an even better situation than just “holding up”, they may even save Thompson for the playoffs and make themselves even more dangerous (again) to win yet another NBA championship. After all, these original core of Warriors of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson won a championship before, and they can certainly do it again.
I know a lot of people aren’t that high on the addition of D’Angelo Russell to Golden State, but I see it as more of a positive to Golden State than a negative.
The Warriors are already potent offensively, and now have someone like Russell to add into the formula as well, someone who can put up some points and coordinate some plays while at it. Last season, he would average a tally of 21 points-per-game, and this is with the talent that was in Brooklyn — they obviously don’t compare to what the Warriors have. And not only will Oakland’s talent take the pressure off of him, but he’ll also be able to take some heat off of Curry in the process with his ability to score points and run offenses. Curry has missed a good amount of time due to injuries over the seasons, so the extra depth with Russ will help tremendously. For now though, he’s going to have to fill in for Klay Thompson, and I see it going pretty well.
When the odds were first released back in July, the Golden State Warriors were at +800 odds to win the Western Conference, and since then, their chances have increased to +650. Remember when I said earlier that their odds aren’t going to get any lower? Yeah, like I said, you need to take advantage. That +650 figure is a steal and loaded with massive profitability, hop on it while you can!
When you look at actual long shot picks for value and profitability, you definitely have to take a look at either the Denver Nuggets at +1100 odds or the Utah Jazz placed at +850. In the 2018-19 campaigns, both would accomplish appearances in the playoffs, and over the offseason, they would pull moves to make themselves even better and further their chances for the Western Conference championship.
Denver would have a fantastic season, but would end up getting bounced out in the second round after a very competitive seven-game series against the Portland Trail Blazers. With that being said, when an organization grows from within and the talent is young, the team doesn’t usually evaporate that quickly. They get even better, and that’s surely to happen with the Denver Nuggets this season, and this is especially true considering that Nikola Jokic has become a top-10 ranked player in the National Basketball Association.
Not only is Jokic one of the best centers in the league, but he would also lead all big-men in assists last season, so he’s a pretty talented player all around. On top of that, there’s talent that surrounds Jokic everywhere with depth at literally every position. As you see, the Denver Nuggets not only have a chance to make a run for the Western Conference championship, they have the tools to win an NBA title. Their biggest splash over the offseason that will show to be the most effective on the court is the addition of Jerami Grant. With him playing in the paint with Jokic, that’s going to make the Nuggets very dangerous on the inside.
Denver’s series loss against Portland last season was a bit tainted, and that was because they were hurt by Paul Millsap’s mistakes on the defensive side — a little too many mistakes that would end up in their defeat and the end of their campaign.
As far as this season is concerned, the Nuggets are certainly on the up, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them land the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. If they can keep the mistakes to a minimum this time around (*cough* Paul Millsap *cough*), they may even be able to win the Western championship.
Now as far as the Utah Jazz are concerned, they would have an even sexier offseason than the Denver Nuggets landing both Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic. With Conley, he becomes the Jazz’s best point guard since Deron Williams, and his last time with Utah would be eight years ago in 2011. Ever since they would trade away Williams, the point guard position has been a problem spot for the Jazz, so it’s definitely a big deal for this franchise to land someone like Mike Conley.
The Jazz could already score and were elite on the defensive side of the ball last season. What Mike Conley does is double that effort, especially on defense as they were one of the best in the league last season on that end. With Conley now in place, you could honestly say that this elevates Utah to a new level. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not riding with them like I am the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets, but they do have the potential to make a deep postseason run that sees them in the Western Conference Finals.
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