The NBA settled down a bit over the weekend after a feisty couple weeks. But the big news was that Houston definitely showed that they will be a contender to Golden State’s throne in the Western Conference this season, although their ability to beat the Warriors in a seven-game series is up in the air. Meanwhile, Cleveland are definitely on the hot seat in the Eastern Conference. They can’t seem to figure out their defensive problems and that has cost them the top spot in the conference. They might only be the third or four seed in the Eastern Conference unless they find a way to shake up the roster or turn things around. Also, it was announced that LeBron James and Stephen Curry will be the captains for the All-Star teams.
Stats as of Monday, January 22nd.
1. Golden State Warriors
NBA Title Odds: –190
The Warriors (37-10) lost 116-108 in Houston on Saturday, and this week they’ll be at home to take on New York, Minnesota and Boston before going back out to visit Utah, Sacramento and Denver. Kevin Durant had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Warriors, who had 19 turnovers on the night and this was a game that showed they need to work on their defense. While everyone knows the Warriors can outscore everyone, there will come a time where their defense will need to pick up. That being said, they’re still the class of the NBA by a wide margin.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Title Odds: +650
The Cavaliers (27-18) won at home over Orlando, but then they were routed by Oklahoma City, also at home. They’ll host Indiana before a home-and-home with Detroit, and then they’ll host Miami. The Cavaliers only beat Orlando by a point, and then the Thunder dropped 148 points on them, the most points ever allowed by a Cleveland basketball team. Simply put: if the Cavaliers don’t improve their defense a little bit, they’re not making it out of the East, whether they have LeBron James or not.
3. Houston Rockets
NBA Title Odds: +700
The Rockets (32-12) beat Minnesota and Golden State at home, and they’ll host Miami before travelling to Dallas and New Orleans, and then they host Phoenix and Orlando. The Golden State win was huge for Houston as they got a huge game from Chris Paul, who had 33 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. All-Star starter James Harden added 22 points and eight assists as he continues to return from a hamstring injury. Golden State are still the favorites, but Houston has won two of three meetings between the two this season.
4. Boston Celtics
NBA Title Odds: +850
The Celtics (34-13) lost at home to Philadelphia and Orlando, and they’ll head on the road to take on the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, along with Golden State and Denver. They’ll then return home to host New York. The Celtics have dropped three in a row, all at home, and they have allowed 103 points or more in two of those games. Again, the Celtics aren’t an offensive powerhouse, even though All-Star starter Kyrie Irving returned from injury to score 40 points against Orlando. They have to be consistent on defense.
5. San Antonio Spurs
NBA Title Odds: +1800
The Spurs (30-18) lost in Toronto and at home to Indiana, and they’ll host Cleveland before travelling to Memphis, and then it is back home to Philadelphia, Sacramento and Denver. The Spurs are now without Kawhi Leonard indefinitely thanks to a quadriceps injury and given Leonard’s injury history this season, that is not a good sign for San Antonio. Any hopes of beating Golden State or even Houston will go down the drain if Leonard isn’t 100% later this season.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Title Odds: +2200
The Thunder (26-20) won big in Cleveland and they’ll return home to host Brooklyn and Washington before heading to Detroit. The Thunder will then host Philadelphia and visit Washington and Denver. The win over Cleveland shouldn’t be a surprise as the Thunder have played well against the big teams, but they aren’t taking care of business against the teams they’re obviously better than. Oklahoma City has the same record against above-.500 teams and below.-500 teams at 13-10, and their record against the latter should be much better.
7. Toronto Raptors
NBA Title Odds: +2500
The Raptors (31-14) won at home over San Antonio and lost in Minnesota, and they’ll travel to Atlanta before returning home to host Utah, the Lakers and Minnesota. Kyle Lowry had a solid couple games, scoring 24 points in the win over San Antonio and then 40 in the loss to Minnesota as he looks completely healthy once again. That is good news for the Raptors as it takes some of the scoring burden off of DeMar DeRozan, who will start in the All-Star Game.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA Title Odds: +2500
The Timberwolves (30-18) lost in Houston and won at home over Toronto, and they’ll head out to visit the Clippers, Portland and Golden State. They’ll come home to host Brooklyn, and then it is back out on the road to Atlanta and Toronto. The Timberwolves fell into some old defensive habits in their last few games and a recent stretch showed that the talent is there on that end of the floor. Minnesota just needs to be more consistent defensively.
9. Washington Wizards
NBA Title Odds: +4500
The Wizards (26-20) won in Detroit and they’ll stay on the road in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Atlanta, and then return home to host Oklahoma City. Bradley Beal is trying to make a push for the All-Star reserves as he has averaged 25.0 points over his last five games, including 26 points in their 122-112 win in Detroit. However, the Wizards are still a poor defensive team.
10. Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Title Odds: +5000
The Bucks (23-22) lost in Philadelphia and they’ll host Phoenix and Brooklyn next before travelling to Chicago, and then they’ll host Philadelphia. Their big worry is a knee injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the Philadelphia game and will miss the Phoenix game. While it doesn’t look to be serious, it is clear that the Bucks might be putting too much pressure on their young star this early in his career.
The 2017-18 NBA is well underway. It’s been a wild offseason already, but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest NBA betting lines right here.
