2023 NBA Betting Odds: Nuggets Fool’s Gold to Win the West?
As the NBA season moves toward the All-Star Game (there’s a great history of it here) in Salt Lake City (Sunday, Feb. 19), teams are jockeying for position to secure home-court advantage and figuring out what deals (or no deals) need to be done before the trade deadline (Feb. 9).
Meanwhile, players just be playin’.
Those potential residential franchise-altering moves are clearly out of their hands, so players keep ballin’.
Oddsmakers also keep movin’ – lines, futures and all the rest, which you can find at one of our favorite wagering sites: FanDuel Sportsbook. But be sure to check out our reviews of the many great wagering sites across the country and the ones that offer the best bonuses.
OK, so, here’s how the latest odds look for the Western Conference champions-to-be.
- Denver Nuggets +350
- Golden State Warriors +360
- Memphis Grizzlies +420
- Los Angeles Clippers +550
- New Orleans Pelicans +850
- Phoenix Suns +950
- Dallas Mavericks +1400
That’s right. I’m listing only seven because, after the Mavs, the Lakers are +2800.
If you think LeBron is going to orchestrate a dramatic trade before the deadline … you might be right. Nah, that’s not happening.
Moving on, just six teams have never reached the NBA Finals: Clippers, Timberwolves, Hornets, Grizzlies, Pelicans and, yes, the Nuggets.
Is this Denver’s destiny?
Maybe.
They look solid. Nikola Jokic is poised to become a three-peat MVP, Jamal Murray is looking like his younger, healthier self and there don’t seem to be any other teams, besides maybe Memphis, who could snatch the No. 1 seed away from the Nuggets.
And you know where I’m going with this:
Golden State.
The Warriors are currently (Jan. 24, 2023) at 23-24 – a losing record if my math is correct, which it never is, but, in this case, it is – which has them tied for 10th in the West, alongside Oklahoma City.
So, at the moment, on the playoffs bubble.
And yet, and yet, the Warriors are the second favorite to claim another conference banner.
Why? Because most are expecting a second-half surge from the Warriors and I’m on board.
The Warriors have reached the NBA Finals six times since 2015. They’re going for lucky seven in 2023. That’s gonna happen and they’ll face the Celtics in a rematch of last year’s Finals. And the Celtics will win. Also, as part of my prediction, it’s going to be 110 degrees in Salt Lake City this summer. That one’s for my buddy, Monte.
