NBA Western Conference Futures Betting

Last week’s NBA trading deadline produced a flurry of last minute deals as a couple of teams tried to add the one or two missing pieces that could push them over the top for this season’s drive to the playoffs or to change the face of their entire franchise with an eye to the future.

It remains to be seen what the net result of these deals will be, but for now there are still just a handful of teams in the Western Conference that have a legitimate chance at making it all the way to this season’s NBA finals. Here is brief look at their current odds to win the West as listed by Sportsbook.com.

The Los Angeles Lakers remain even money to repeat as Western Conference champions. While the Lakers have looked less than dominant at times this season, all the necessary pieces remain intact for this team to make another trip to the finals. LA is currently 43-19 and has reeled off five straight wins since its ugly 104-99 loss to Cleveland right before the All-Star break. You almost get the feeling this team is toying with the rest of the league by turning itself on like a light switch when it wants to get serious about winning. As long as Kobe & Co. stay healthy down the stretch, they will once again be the team to beat when the real NBA season gets underway this April.

San Antonio is the second favorite at +200 even though it has been the number one team in the West all season long. The Spurs have a five-game lead over Dallas in both the Southwest Division and Conference standings with an overall record of 49-11. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have only lost two games in a row once this season. Health is also a concern for this team as season veterans such as Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan remain the primary force behind their success. Based on the Spurs current play they offer some decent value as an alternative to LA, but you have to question whether or not this engine will have enough gas left to carry this team deep into postseason.

The Dallas Mavericks have reeled off seven straight victories and have only lost twice since suffering through a six-game losing streak in early January. The concern here is that this team failed to make any moves before the trading deadline and is pretty much the same cast of characters that have made an early exit from the playoffs the past few seasons. Dallas is currently listed at +300 to win the conference but it is hard to get excited about its prospects to come out on top no matter how well it is playing right now.

The best value in the West belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder at +800. The Thunder lead Denver in the Northwest Division by 2 ½ games and have the fourth-best record in the conference at 36-22. The addition of Kendrick Perkins through a trade with Boston makes Oklahoma City a much better team than the one that the pushed the Lakers to six games in last year’s opening round of the playoffs and can play head-to-head with any team in the NBA. All-Star forward Kevin Durant is a strong MVP candidate with a league-high 28.5 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. Add in Russell Westbrook, who is the second leading scorer with 22 points a game, the Thunder have the best one-two scoring punch in the conference.