The past week has seen the Golden State Warriors embark on a three-game winning streak to leave their win record at .850 and strengthen their grip on the Pacific Division. They are just 1/100 to win it, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are also 1/100 to win the Central Division. Both are looking nailed on, but there is plenty of value in predicting who will finish first in the other four divisions, which are all very much up for grabs.
Northwest Division
This looks like a two-horsed race between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz has recorded their best record at the midway point of a season since 2010-11 and hold a slender lead over the Thunder. But Oklahoma City is hot on their heels and have a real superstar in Russell Wilson, so it should prove a close fought battle. Still, the Jazz is better defensively and will take confidence from beating the Cavaliers last Tuesday, so they should just sneak it in and the 8/11 Paddy Power is offering looks good.
Southwest Division
Another intense battle here is developing between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. In James Harden, Houston has a player vying with Wilson to be named MVP, and he recently inspired them to an eight-game winning streak. But two straight defeats saw Houston fall to 31-11, leaving them narrowly behind the Spurs, who are 31-9. Alongside Golden State, the Spurs are the NBA’s form team at present. They have the league’s best offence, and over the last month they have had the best defence, so they are topping power rankings lists and should finish just ahead of Houston, making the 1/3 Bet365 is offering look good for an accumulator.
Atlantic Division
The Toronto Raptors lead this division ahead of the Boston Celtics, but the Raptors are an inconsistent team, losing to the Bulls and the Rockets this past week, before recording hugely impressive victories over the Celtics and the Jazz. That defeat will have hurt the Celtics, who are 8-2 in their last 10, compared to 5-5 for the Raptors, and will harbour hopes of overhauling them over the course of the season. The Raptors are 10/19 with Bet365, but the 7/4 Coral is offering on the Celtics looks interesting as Isaiah Thomas and Larry Bird are in sensational form.
Southeast Division
Arguably the poorest division, this could be taken by any one of three teams: the Atlanta Hawks (13/10 with Coral), Charlotte Hornets (9/4 with William Hill) or Washington Wizards (13/4 with 888Sport). None of them ranks in the top 10 teams this season for win percentage. The Hornets looked in the driving seat a couple of weeks ago, but four straight defeats for them coincided with seven wins in a row for Atlanta, leaving the Hawks ahead of them. The 13/10 looks a good bet on Atlanta and could make a nice treble with the Jazz and the Spurs.
Upcoming Games
Tuesday sees the Jazz travel to the struggling Phoenix Suns. Utah really should be winning this game and the odds of 4/9 reflect that, but you can get 10/11 with Paddy Power on the Jazz -4.5, which looks a good bet. On the same day, an out of sorts Thunder travels to the LA Clippers, who are on a six-game winning streak and should win it at 4/9 with Sky Bet. One game to look out for is in-form Atlanta at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The Pistons are 8-17 against teams with a win percentage better than .500, and Atlanta should beat them and cover a decent spread.
