The 2022-23 NBA season has finally arrived and here at Bet For The Win, we are as excited as everyone else to finally put this long offseason behind us. We’re equally as excited for a fun season and will run through each of the NBA’s divisions from a sports-betting lens.
Whether you’re looking to wager or simply want something fun to consume before the opening day of the season, we’ve got some content for you with our Betting Preview Series.
It’s time to talk about the Pacific Divison, and a simple question is: What isn’t there to talk about? The division has multiple title contenders and a load of talent.
Let’s break it all down.
Teams
Golden State Warriors
The champs enter the 2022-23 season with the best odds, the best player and another really good team. Are they good enough to go back to back?
LA Clippers
The Clippers are incredibly deep and are welcoming back one of the best players in all of basketball. Load management and season-long health will be the thing for the Clips, but if things work out in their favor, a division title is surely possible.
Phoenix Suns
Are the bad vibes and the nasty taste of last postseason’s second-round exit going to linger? Or are the guys going to regroup and use everything in the past as motivation? We’ll see.
Los Angeles Lakers
It’s hard to imagine things being as bad for the Lakers as they were a season ago. How much better it will actually be this year depends on how the pieces around LeBron James pan out.
Sacramento Kings
Sacramento should be better. But the reality is that it may or may not show up in the win/loss column due to them being a part of arguably the best division in basketball.
Sleeper
Los Angeles Lakers
The Kings aren’t title contenders, while the Warriors, Suns, and Clippers are. So, that leaves the Lakers as the question mark — in this case, the sleeper.
It’s weird to even label a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as a sleeper because the two players’ track record and talent are quite obviously up there with some of the best in the NBA. But, after what went on last year, hardly anyone is buying what the Lakers are selling.
And look, no one here is saying that the Lakers will win the NBA title in 2023, but there is a world in which LeBron and AD are healthy and playing to their potential, which in theory, gives the Lakeshow a puncher’s chance. Hey, maybe Russell Westbrook figures it out in Year 2 in L.A. or perhaps the coaching change brings the team the breath of fresh air that it desperately needed. Who knows?
For all of the reasons above, they’re the clear-cut sleepers of this division.
Winner
Golden State Warriors
Betting against the Warriors is just asking for trouble. Under Steve Kerr, they’ve won the division and made it to the NBA Finals each time they’ve rostered a contending team. That doesn’t conclude Golden State will automatically win the Pacific based on history alone, but the Dubs will, once again, have a talented roster. However, this time with better health from the jump.
There is reason to believe that a team like the Clippers has the more talented roster and the higher ceiling, but there’s a lot that’s still unproven with them. The Warriors don’t have as many question marks, and their cohesion from Day 1 will ultimately be the deal-breaker.
