Ranking the Los Angeles Lakers Title Odds Against the Western Conference
The 2011-12 NBA regular season is in the record books, and that means it's time to focus on the upcoming 2012 NBA playoffs.
The Western Conference is certainly more competitive than the Eastern Conference when it comes to the depth of every team from the top seeded San Antonio Spurs, all the way to the eighth seeded Utah Jazz.
The depth of the Western Conference will make it a difficult task for any team, including the Los Angeles Lakers, to make it out of the West and into the 2012 NBA finals. The good news though is that someone has to make it out of the West, and that team could very well be the Los Angeles Lakers.
It's time to see how the Lakers' 2012 NBA title odds rank against all of their Western Conference foes.
No. 8 Dallas Mavericks: 99 to 1
1 of 8I hate to do this to the reigning NBA champs, but there's just no way that the Dallas Mavericks will make it out of the first round against a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder beat the Mavericks in three out of their four regular-season meetings. While those games were relatively close, the Thunder have too much talent and youth on their roster for the Mavs to hang with them in a seven-game series.
I know it's hard to believe that the Thunder will dominate the Mavericks in the playoffs, as last year the Mavericks knocked them out in the Western Conference finals in just five games.
The main difference this year though, is that the Mavericks are a bit older and they are also missing the dominant defensive presence in the paint hey had last year known as Tyson Chandler.
Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki certainly have the experience they need to help the Mavericks make a run in the playoffs. But the fact that they were just 26-22 against Western Conference teams this season certainly doesn't help their case.
Finding themselves at the seventh spot in the Western Conference, the Mavericks very well could be the next reigning NBA champ to fail to defend their title. Sorry Mavs fans, a 2012 NBA title isn't in your future.
Title Odds: 99 to 1
No. 7 Denver Nuggets: 75 to 1
2 of 8The Denver Nuggets certainly are capable of making some noise in the Western Conference playoffs, but that doesn't mean that they are ready to make a legitimate run at the 2012 NBA title.
The Nuggets are the proud owners of the number one scoring offense in the league, with an impressive average of 103.7 points per game, but that alone won't lead them to a deep run in the playoffs.
The Nuggets are also the proud owners of the 29th ranked defense, giving up an average of 101.2 points per game, and that is going to have a more significant impact on their post-season performance than their high-powered offense.
There's no doubt that defense wins championships in the NBA, as the Mavericks proved last season, and that being the case, there's no way that the Nuggets' defense will be strong enough to help them earn that honor this year.
Not only will the Nuggets' defense hold them back from moving on in the playoffs, so will the fact that they have to face off against a team that dominated them during the regular season in the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Nuggets don't match-up well with the Lakers, even though their bench is deeper, and that's why the Lakers beat them in three out of their four regular season meetings.
Title Odds: 75 to 1
No. 6 Utah Jazz: 60 to 1
3 of 8I might be riding a little high on the Utah Jazz bandwagon, but watching them play their hearts out over the past week fighting for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, has been nothing short of amazing.
The Jazz's playoff success, especially their first-round series with the San Antonio Spurs, relies heavily on the performance of three players; Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and most importantly, Devin Harris.
When Jefferson, Millsap and Harris are playing at the top of their game they form one of the most productive and underrated three-player tandems in the Western Conference, accounting for an average of 47.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting.
The only problem for the Jazz is that those three players don't always show up night in and night out. That's a major concern heading into a playoff series against a team like the San Antonio Spurs.
With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if the Jazz were able to upset the Spurs this year, like what the Grizzlies did to the Spurs last season in the NBA playoffs. Even though the Spurs owned the regular season series with the Jazz three games to one, the Jazz have enough athleticism to run with the Spurs.
Even if the Jazz make it out of the first round, the rest of the Western Conference is too strong for them to make a serious run at the 2012 NBA title.
Title Odds: 60 to 1
No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies: 50 to 1
4 of 8The Memphis Grizzlies scored the upset of the year last season when, in just six games they knocked off the overall number one seed in the West, the San Antonio Spurs.
While the Grizzlies are certainly still capable of moving past the first round, it will be more challenging. They find themselves in a difficult first-round matchup with a Los Angeles Clippers team that dominated them two out of the three times they played this season.
The main reason why the Grizzlies are the final team in the lower half of the Western Conference title odds is because they often times lack the explosive kind of offensive production it takes to be a top contender.
The Grizzlies average the 20th most points per game in the NBA, with an average of just 95.1 points. That lack of offensive production is the foundation of why the Clippers were able to beat them two times this season by an average of 11.5 points.
Of all the top seeds in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies have the highest possibility of getting upset in the first round. They simply don't match up well with the Clippers.
Don't let the Grizzlies' season ending six-game winning streak fool you. All of those wins came against teams playing for absolutely nothing, like the New Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Title Odds: 50 to 1
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers: 25 to 1
5 of 8The Los Angeles Clippers have certainly improved this season. Last year at this time, the Clippers were 32-50 overall and they were watching the 2011 NBA playoffs from the comfort of their own homes.
This season, on the other hand, Lob City is the fifth overall seed in the Western Conference with a favorable path towards an appearance in the Western Conference Finals and the 2012 NBA Finals as well.
The Clippers might be one of the most inconsistent teams in the West, but they are also an extremely dangerous team. This is evidenced by their five-game winning streak a few weeks ago that included two wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With Chris Paul leading the way, and Blake Griffin, Nick Young and Caron Butler following close behind, the Clippers are a team to not to sleep on. Especially now that they find themselves in a very winnable first-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Clippers dominated their regular season series with the Grizzlies three games to one. It's very feasible to think that the Clippers might have the most winnable first-round series of any Western Conference team.
If Lob City makes it out of the first-round, their run to the 2012 NBA title certainly gets significantly more difficult. Although that doesn't mean it's impossible, as they have the talent they need to be competitive in the West.
Title Odds: 25 to 1
No. 3 San Antonio Spurs: 15 to 1
6 of 8I'm not hating on the San Antonio Spurs, I'm just taking their most recent playoff performance into account.
Remember last year when the top-seed Spurs got knocked out in the first round of the Western Conference players by the Memphis Grizzlies? While the Spurs are a better, more complete team this time around, there's no doubt that their first-round matchup with the upstart Utah Jazz will be a tough one.
The Spurs' title odds are only the third highest in the West because their age is a significant factor when it comes to possibly having to play full seven-game series in the playoffs.
A young team like the Jazz could really exhaust the Spurs in a first-round series. This would make moving out of the second round that much harder. The Spurs are certainly deserving of their top spot in the West, as they are one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the NBA.
Unfortunately, their age will catch up with them as they try to progress through a stacked Western Conference playoff picture.
The San Antonio Spurs, led by dark-horse MVP candidate Tony Parker, certainly have what it takes to make a run at the 2012 NBA title, but it will be an arduous challenge for them to do so.
Title Odds: 15 to 1
No. 2 Los Angeles Lakers: 10 to 1
7 of 8It might come as a shock that I think the Los Angeles Lakers have a better shot at the 2012 NBA title than the San Antonio Spurs, but there's one thing that makes them more dangerous; the pure presence of Kobe Bryant.
In his 16th year in the NBA, Kobe is still one of the most passionate, offensively explosive and disciplined players in the league. While he's only getting older, his passion to win NBA championships isn't going anywhere.
With Kobe's 27.9 points per game average leading the way, the Lakers are one of the most dangerous teams heading into the playoffs. While the Lakers at times lack bench production, they still manage to rank in the top 15 in the NBA when it comes to offensive and defensive production, rebounds, and assists per game.
When the Lakers are running on all cylinders, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA. If you think Kobe is going to let them play any less than that during the playoffs, you are sadly mistaken.
Kobe will have every member of the Lakers' team ready to play come time for the playoffs, and that's what makes them so dangerous.
Title Odds: 10 to 1
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 to 1
8 of 8While the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the top spot in the Western Conference over the past two weeks to the San Antonio Spurs, there's no doubting that they have what it takes to contend for the 2012 NBA title.
The Thunder certainly don't have one of the top defenses in the league, but that's not necessary when you can score points the way that they can. The Thunder average 103.1 points per game, which is the third most in the entire NBA. It will be the foundation of their run to the 2012 title.
There's no debating the fact that the Thunder's bench lacks depth, but with guys like Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, they don't really need too much production off their bench.
With an impressive combination of youth, previous playoff experience and explosive offensive production, the Thunder are the front-runners in the West to make a run at the 2012 NBA title. The Thunder will remember what it felt like to get sent home from the Western Conference Finals last year, and that will be enough motivation to make it one step further this season.
Title Odds: 5 to 1
