NBA Playoffs Betting Preview: Warriors, Spurs Highlight Western Conference

It will be a big surprise if the two best teams during the regular season do not meet in this year’s Western Conference Finals, as the Golden State Warriors (73-9) and San Antonio Spurs (67-15) were easily the class of the NBA during a record-setting year.

So it should not be a shocker that Golden State is the -190 favorite (bet $190 to win $100) on the odds to win the Western Conference while San Antonio is the +230 second choice (bet $100 to win $230) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The teams are also the top two favorites on the odds to win the NBA championship, according to oddsmakers at -150 and +375, respectively.

The defending champion Warriors won more games than any team in league history, breaking the previous record set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, and the Spurs tied the 1985-86 Boston Celtics for the best home mark of all time at 40-1. San Antonio’s lone home loss came against Golden State 92-86 on April 10 after the Spurs had won the previous meeting there 87-79 on March 19.

Of the previous 10 teams that finished 67-15 or better, only one did not make it to the conference finals and eight won it all.

The Warriors were one of those teams that went 67-15 and won the title last year, but they will ultimately be judged this season by whether they can win back-to-back championships. They open the postseason with a rematch of the 2015 Western Conference Finals, playing the Houston Rockets (41-41) off a disappointing campaign.

The Rockets are +12500 to win the West and have lost 12 of the past 13 meetings, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database, although they still have a very talented team led by shooting guard James Harden and center Dwight Howard.

The third choice to win the conference is Harden’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder (55-27) at +800. After missing the playoffs last year and firing head coach Scott Brooks, the Thunder are back with Billy Donovan leading the best one-two scoring punch in the league with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Durant is an unrestricted free agent after the season, making this postseason critical in order for the team to retain his services. Westbrook is a free agent the following year and led the league with 18 triple-doubles, and he is the only other player worthy of MVP consideration besides reigning winner Stephen Curry of Golden State.

None of the other teams in the West seem to have much of a chance, with the Los Angeles Clippers (53-29) sitting at +1600 followed by the Portland Trail Blazers (44-38) at +7500, the Dallas Mavericks (42-40) at +12500 and the Memphis Grizzlies (42-40) at +25000 on the NBA betting futures at the sportsbooks.

The Clippers ousted the Spurs in the first round last season and should be bolstered by the return of Blake Griffin, who played in just five games since December 25 due to injuries and a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.