NBA Pacific Division Preview: Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, L.A. Clippers in 3-Way Fight

Posted on: October 6, 2022, 03:40h. 

Last updated on: October 6, 2022, 05:04h.

Pauly McGuire Read More

Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

The Golden State Warriors are the defending NBA champions. But the Los Angeles Clippers are the betting favorite to win the Pacific Division at +180 odds. That puts them ahead of the Warriors (+205), the Phoenix Suns (+225), and the LA Lakers (+800).

The Suns won the Pacific Division in each of the last two seasons, and will attempt a three-peat amidst a maelstrom of drama surrounding team owner Robert Saver. The NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million for racist remarks and promoting a toxic workplace rampant with misogyny. Sarver announced he intends to sell the Suns, and Forbes projects the sale could fetch at least $2.5 billion.

The Pacific Division has three NBA championship contenders. But any team LeBron James plays on is always a title contender, so you can add the LA Lakers to the mix.

After the Boston Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka for the upcoming season because of a violation of the team’s conduct policy, oddsmakers at DraftKings installed the Clippers as the new outright favorite to win the 2022-23 NBA Championship. They’re listed at +550 odds at DraftKings.

The Warriors are +600 odds to repeat as NBA champions. The Suns are +1200 odds to win their first NBA championship. LeBron and the Lakers are +1600 odds to win a second title since 2020.

Los Angeles Clippers +180

The Clippers are the consensus favorite to win the Pacific Division at +180 odds, and are seeking their first division crown since the 2013-14 season. Health will be the key to success for the Clippers this season, because all of their key players are returning from an injury of some kind.

The Clippers hope to bounce back this season after Kawhi Leonard returns from an ACL injury. Leonard missed all of last season, and he’s excited to get back to the court. Paul George also missed significant time last season with an elbow injury, and he’s 100% recovered.

The Clippers acquired Norman Powell from the Portland Trail Blazers prior to last season’s trade deadline. Powell fractured his foot and only played five games with the Clippers. This season, Powell will anchor the second unit along with John Wall. Wall has been plagued with injuries and last played a full season in 2016-17. The former #1 pick in the NBA Draft doesn’t have to carry the team, but he could provide an instant scoring boost off the bench if he can remain healthy.

The Clippers have the highest projected win total out of any Pacific Division team at 52.5 o/u.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXYpETT-dmg

Golden State Warriors +205

The Warriors rattled off five-straight Pacific Division titles between 2015 and 2019. With 53 wins last season, the Warriors finished second in the division and earned the #3 playoff seed. They ran the table in the postseason to win their fourth championship since 2015.

Andrew Wiggins was the X-factor in last year’s postseason. Steph Curry gets all the credit and was named the NBA Finals MVP, but Wiggins played stellar defense down the stretch and posted a couple of huge offensive games when a rusty Klay Thompson or Curry went cold.

Jordan Poole is the third “Splash Brother,” and the Warriors will like to rely on him to carry the team during the regular season to avoid wearing out Curry and Thompson.

James Wiseman also returns from a knee injury. With Draymond Green getting another year older, the Warriors need a consistent season from Wiseman if they expect to win back-to-back championships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hoa5G2Dy6U

Phoenix Suns +225

It’s been a long summer for the Suns after they were throttled by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Suns were embarrassed with a 33-point loss. But they were down by as many as 46 points in that game. Hopefully, ESPN will produce a 30 for 30 documentary on what caused the implosion, because we still don’t know exactly what went wrong.

The Suns finished about .700 in the last two seasons under Williams, who won the NBA Coach of the Year honors last season. With a 64-18 record, the Suns posted the best record in the NBA. They locked up the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, but met their inevitable fate in the conference semifinal.

The Suns signed Deandre Ayton to a contract extension, and we’ll see if there’s still any bad blood between himself and Williams. In their Game 7 elimination versus the Mavs, Williams benched Ayton for unknown reasons. Fans hope the two can patch up their beef and move on.

The Suns will ride or die based on the health of aging superstar Chris Paul unless Devin Booker carries the team for huge stretches this season. Booker averaged a career-high 26.8 ppg last season, while knocking down a career-best 30.3% of his 3-pointers.

You can back the Suns at +225 odds to win the Pacific Division for a third-straight season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuf-BSbM3jw

Los Angeles Lakers +800

There’s never a dull day with the Lakers. LeBron James will try to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, but he’s also trying to win another title for Jeanie Buss before injuries derail another season for the Lakers.

LeBron missed 53 games over the last two seasons, which wouldn’t be such a big deal if Anthony Davis wasn’t also prone to injuries. Davis missed 50% of the regular season in the last two years, including 42 games last season. When LeBron and Davis are healthy, the Lakers are a legit title contender.

Russell Westbrook is the other big storyline to watch. Will Westbrook modify his game to fit in with the Lakers under new head coach Darvin Ham? Or will the Lakers finally find a team willing to take Westbrook off their hands in a trade?

Acquiring Westbrook in a trade with the Washington Wizards last off-season backfired when he didn’t mesh with the team. Westbrook earns a super-max salary, which makes him undesirable on the trade market, so the Lakers have no other choice but to stick with him.

If Westbrook and the Lakers finally get on the same page, they could surpass their projected win total of 45.5 o/u. However, that seems like a pipe dream. Expect another disappointing season with Davis spending time on the IL, constant trade rumors, and Westbrook’s awful shooting getting viciously trolled by fans with his “Westbrick” nickname.

At least LeBron’s pursuit of the NBA scoring record will keep things interesting this season.

The Lakers are +800 odds to win the Pacific. But the division is so competitive that they could still finish in fourth place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAm3Q0Sm4Jg

Sacramento Kings +40000

The Sacramento Kings dominated the Pacific Division 20 years ago when they won back-to-back division titles. The Kings have the longest playoff drought in the NBA at 16 seasons and counting. New head coach Mike Brown is on a mission to help restore the Kings to their former glory. That won’t happen right away, but the Kings will try to climb out of the Western Conference basement this season.

At +40000 odds, the Kings are a long shot to win the Pacific. At least they have fun players to watch. The Kings selected Keegan Murray with the fourth-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and the incoming rookie won the NBA Summer League MVP in Las Vegas.

No one wants to sign free-agent deals to play in Sacramento, so the Kings utilized trades to bolster their squad. They acquired All-Star Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers and sharpshooter Kevin Huerter from the Atlanta Hawks. The entire team is anchored by De’Aaron Fox, who averaged 23.2 ppg last season.