NBA Basketball Futures – Handicapping the West by Division
In handicapping every one of the NBA divisions here at BetUS NBA Sportsbook, we are primarily focused on “value.” As we proceed (and you will also get out opinion on the East), you’ll see that the favorites aren’t always my choices, because I am trying to balance the strength of each team withthe value it presents as a NBA betting proposition. I hope you’ll be able to get some ideas out of it.
Why don’t we get started, with the BetUS Sportsbook NBA betting odds:
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets +500
Minnesota Timberwolves +4000
Portland Trail Blazers +375
Oklahoma City Thunder +7500
Utah Jazz -300
I don’t like Denver’s game, and never have. By putting Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson together, they achieved a certain level of potency simply because those guys are very good scorers. But there isn’t anything going on here on the defensive end. Kenyon Martin never seems healthy enough, and without Marcus Camby there’s a big hole up front. Even with the addition of Kevin Love and Mike Miller. Minnesota isn’t ready to make a big move. Portland is a team I like, and if Greg Oden turns out to be just a very good role player in his first season, this turns into potential value. Oklahoma City is nowhere right now, and Utah is a team that always gets right around the point where they can be a legitimate contender for the conference title, but falls short because they just don’t have enough of SOMETHING. I would concede that Utah rates the favorite, but the Blazers carry a lot of upside.
JAY’S PLAY: PORTLAND +375
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors +2000
Los Angeles Clippers +1600
Los Angeles Lakers -350
Phoenix Suns +250
Sacramento Kings +7500
I am intrigued by the additions the Clippers have made, because they go themselves a point guard who can score (Baron Davis) and a genuine shot-blocker and rebounder (Marcus Camby) to put alongside Chris Kaman. I think they are a playoff-level team right now, but they’re not going to top this group. Golden State is lost. Monta Ellis is ill-suited for point guard, and if Corey Maggette is being counted on as a team leader, that will bring further toward the bottom. Phoenix is a team that will get caught up in transition, and will stumble trying to slow things down, Shaq will become less and less useful to the Suns, and there isn’t the kind of personnel to play defense as Terry Porter would like. Sacramento is throwing in with Kevin Martin. 
They’ll be a 33-win team.
The Lakers are the winners here chiefly by process of elimination; it will be interesting to see what happens when they team Pau Gasol with Andrew Bynum up front.
JAY’S PLAY: LAKERS -350
Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks +650
Houston Rockets +200
Memphis Grizzlies +10000
New Orleans Hornets +175
San Antonio Spurs +180
I look at Dallas as a shaky proposition, because they seem caught up between being an effective halfcourt team and a “hurry-up” team. Jason Kidd likes to run if he can, and I’m sure he can be effective in an offense based on set plays, but he has lost a step defensively, and it’s not as if people like Dirk Nowtizki are around to make up for it. Houston IS a defensive team, with Yao Ming, Shane Battier and now Ron Artest, but the chemistry here is very combustible. For example, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to move Tracy McGrady at some point during the season. Memphis simply has a long way to go, and they’re not going to get there with the contingent they have now. San Antonio is a great, veteran team that will always be in the running to win the NBA title. But they know enough to pace themselves in the regular season, and that hurts their chances to win a division. New Orleans is the team of the moment, in my opinion, and with the strengthening of the Hornets’ bench (in the person of James Posey), I am expecting them to make this season their own.
JAY’S PLAY: NEW ORLEANS +175
