posted October 28, 2009 at 11:56 EST in NBA Articles
NBA Futures - Pacific Division is the Lakers to Lose
by Charles Jay
NBA Basketball Futures Betting
A QUICK LOOK AT THE PACIFIC DIVISION
The division champions automatically get the higher playoff seeds, and if the Lakers have as easy a time as most people would reasonably think they do, they can coast to the finish line as the division champ (and maybe even the #1 record in the conference) and give some players the rest they can use for the post-season run.
To Win Pacific Division
- Los Angeles Lakers -3000
- Phoenix Suns +1200
- Los Angeles Clippers +2500
- Golden State Warriors +2000
- Sacramento Kings +10000
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (-3000) -- Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant, and he'll be an MVP contender in the end. I know there has been some question about adding Ron Artest as a guy who might upset team "chemistry," but he brings a strong defensive presence, and that is something the Lakers can really use. It doesn't hurt that he can score too, because sometimes this team got into patterns where only Bryant or Pau Gasol shot the ball.
Derek Fisher is a wily veteran and certainly a guy who has ice in his veins come playoff time, but he can be a defensive liability because he gets beat off the dribble too much. Andrew Bynum has potential, but at the same time he was a major question mark. He was a virtual no-show for the playoffs and thus his relevance is diminished. Will marriage steady Lamar Odom? We ask that facetiously, of course.
Lamar learned how to box in the off-season. During an interview he was very adamant about how it increased his "combativeness" and that he can now knock someone out with his right hand. Good thing Khloe's got that pre-nup in place. The Lakers may cruise in this division, but I would not lay this price. What if Kobe got injured? You're looking at a good but not great team then. As it is, I think they are hardly unbeatable.
PHOENIX SUNS (+1200) -- Yeah, they have Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire. They've had them before, and it didn't make them legitimate title threats. Nash, by the way, told one radio station in Phoenix that "Of course, as a competitor I want to win a championship and it pains me to say right now, I am not sure if we are a championship-caliber team."
This team will let loose again with the pace of its game, now that it no longer has Shaquille O'Neal to slow it down. Jason Richardson, who was once a defender in college, has to show some of that now. Will he? Will Grant Hill be someone Phoenix can count on again over a full season, at age 37? Can Channing Frye actually bang with anyone at the center spot? How much time will versatile rookie Earl Clark get? With this team, they've always been missing something. They're still missing it.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (+2500) -- The Clippers do not have a bad cast of players, of course, we've said this kind of thing about the Clips before, and nothing happened. But when you consider the likes of Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Eric Gordon, Rasual Butler, Chris Kaman, and now Blake Griffin, you’d assume these guys will be able to put up some wins.
Shame that Griffin won’t make his debut for at least a 6 weeks with the broken knee cap.
Camby needs to be more efficient and he will, I suppose, rotate around from power forward to center. Chris Kaman is of no use if he is not healthy. Al Thornton is developing a rap for being a little selfish. Griffin will certainly score points when he’s back, and if they are smart, they'll have an offense that’s clicking when he comes back to build around him. Cohesiveness is a question that has yet to be answered. Maybe a coaching change is in order, but we've also said that before.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (+2000) -- There is lots of scoring, and lots of "colorful" personalities surrounding the Warriors, but it is also clear (and this is no revelation) that there are too many self-centered players. This is not a "fun" bunch; expect general discord before we are that far into the season. Will Stephen Jackson be moved or not? That is a distraction and will continue to be.
The sooner they turn this team over to uber-talented rookie Stephan Curry and second-year man Anthony Randolph, along with some genuine role players, along with a coach who applies a system that is more conducive to winning playoff basketball, the better off they'll be.
SACRAMENTO KINGS (+10000) -- Kevin Martin is a tremendous offensive player. The guy could hardly walk last year because the pain in his ankle was so bad, and yet he still went out there and got his 24 points a game for a team that really needed it. Now he gets a chance to team with Tyreke Evans in the backcourt and give the Kings some rather imposing size at that position.
Evans, who only played one season at Memphis, is under pressure to make things happen, because Sacramento's alternative at the point is the very limited Beno Udrih. He'll need a jump shot. He'll need to penetrate and kick out to Martin. I have no doubt about Paul Westphal's ability to eventually get some results from this team, but I don't know that there is any room for them to move up. Somebody had better learn to play defense.
