The Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder have been sitting atop the Western Conference for much of the 2023-24 NBA season. Both young, up-and-coming teams have been playing some of their best basketball in recent memory, and have the 2nd and 3rd most wins of any team in the league behind the Boston Celtics.
But despite their top-2 standings, neither are projected to win the Western Conference by the oddsmakers.
NBA Odds: Wolves, Thunder Getting No Love From Oddsmakers
Timberwolves players laughing and singing after beating ‘sorry’ Clippers: ‘Them [expletives] old as hell’ https://t.co/WaJgihbgbh
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 13, 2024
That distinction would go to the Denver Nuggets, which they are actually currently sharing with the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams are listed at +250 to win the West, according to the odds board at BetOnline, and there is a sizeable distance between them and the next contenders. The Phoenix Suns are down at +650, and the Thunder, who are currently 1.5 games behind the Wolves, are listed at +700. Interestingly enough, the team with the best record in the conference has the 5th shortest odds, with the Wolves coming in at +750.
The current standings are not at all reflective of the odds to win the West, which means that the oddsmakers are projecting a serious flip when it comes to the results of the final 30-or-so games. The Clippers will come out of the All-Star break in 3rd place and 2 games back, and the Nuggets are in 4th and 3 games behind. The Suns are 6 games back, so there would have to be a serious cold streak endured by the Wolves should Phoenix make good on their lower designation.
Could A Team Further Back Make A Surprise Run?
SUNS WIN!
SUNS WIN! pic.twitter.com/o5JrVQch4T
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 15, 2024
Or will it be a dark horse candidate? Last year, we saw both the Warriors and Lakers struggle through the regular season before turning on the juice in April and…
Author : Anthony R. Cardenas
Publish date : 2024-02-19 22:09:45
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Author : soccernews
Publish date : 2024-02-20 04:11:15
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.