The Denver Nuggets and two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic are the betting favorite to win the NBA Northwest Division at -140 odds, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter returning from serious injuries.
Nikola Jokic (right) from the Denver Nuggets defends Karl-Anthony Towns (22) from the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. The Nuggets and Timberwolves will battle for the 2022-23 Northwest Division Title. (Image: USA Today Sports)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a team on the upswing after they won the Western Conference Play-In Tournament last season. They landed one of the NBA’s premier defensive players in a blockbuster trade for Rudy Gobert, which is why they’re the second favorite to win win the Northwest at +140 odds.
2022-23 NBA NORTHWEST DIVISION ODDS
Denver Nuggets -140
Minnesota Timberwolves +140
Portland Trail Blazers +800
Utah Jazz +20000
Oklahoma City Thunder +25000
** Odds via DraftKings
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz’s run of back-to-back Northwest Division titles is about to come to a end. The Jazz imploded their team when they traded away Gobert ad Donovan Mitchell this summer.
Denver Nuggets -140
The Denver Nuggets are ready to rip. Murray missed all of last season recovering from an ACL injury. Porter played only a couple of games before he missed the rest of the season with a back injury and subsequent surgery.
Even without two max-contract players, Jokic still carried the Nuggets on his back to win 48 games last season. His Herculean effort earned him MVP honors for a second season in a row. Jokic narrowly edged out Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers in the closest MVP race in over two decades.
The Nuggets upgraded their defense by acquiring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a trade with the Washington Wizards. Backup point guard Bones Hyland had a breakout rookie season last year, and he’s our long shot pick for Sixth Man of the Year.
So long as the Nuggets stay healthy, they are the team to beat in the Northwest. Their win total is 49.5 o/u game, but 50-plus wins is reachable with a health Big 3 of Jokic, Murray, and Porter. Grab the Nuggets now at -140 odds before the Northwest odds shift at the start of the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves +140
The Minnesota Timberwolves won 46 games last season earned the #7 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Even though the Memphis Grizzlies knocked them out in the first round, the Timberwolves/Grizzlies played one of the most exciting series in the entire playoffs.
In an attempt to compete in a stacked Western Conference, the Timberwolves leveraged their future for Gobert, and coughed up four first-round picks and five players. Gobert joins a front line with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels, while Anthony Edwards anchors the backcourt with D’Angelo Russell.
Aside from Kyle Anderson, the Timberwolves have a thin bench after they sent a slew of role players and veterans to the Jazz to complete the Gobert trade. Their starting five is one of the strongest in the west, but their lack of depth is a concern.
The public jumped on the bandwagon after the Gobert trade, which is why the Timberwolves are +140 odds to win the Northwest. The Timberwovles’ win total is 48.5 o/u, which is just a couple more wins higher than last season’s 46 wins.
Portland Trail Blazers +800
Pop quiz time. Aside from Damian Lillard, how many other starters from the Portland Trail Blazers can you name? It’s okay if you don’t know more than two. We had to look it up too because the Trail Blazers were another team that rebooted most of their squad.
Lillard missed the second half of last season recovering from core stomach surgery, but he signed a lucrative contract extension which backed up his desire to play his entire career in Portland.
Guard Anfernee Simmons had a breakout season last year averaging 17.3 ppg. He’ll join Lillard in the backcourt, but it seems weird that Lillard and CJ McCollum are no longer in the same lineup after the Trail Blazers broke up their dynamic duo at the last season’s trade deadline.
The Trail Blazers added Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons, then bolstered their bench by signing Gary Payton II. With the seventh-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Trail Blazers took a flier on Shaedon Sharpe, but Sharpe injured his shoulder during an NBA Summer League game in Vegas.
The bookies think the Trail Blazers are barely a break-even team during a transition season with a win total of 39.5 o/u. A healthy Lillard could still keep them in contention for a spot in the Play-In Tournament, which is why they’re +800 odds to win the Northwest.
Utah Jazz +20000
The Utah Jazz were one of the top teams in the Western Conference the last couple of seasons, but a growing rift between stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert inevitably led to a fractured locker room and disappointing breakup. During a busy offseason, the Jazz traded Gobert to the Timberwolves, then dealt Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavs.
It’s only a matter of time before the Jazz trade away veterans Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, or Collin Sexton. They’re on a mission to rebuild the team from scratch after acquiring a hoard of future draft picks for Gobert and Mitchell.
Quin Snyder saw the writing on the wall, and the head coach prematurely retired after eight seasons in Utah. President Danny Ainge hired Will Hardy as the Jazz’s new head coach. Hardy earned accolades as one of the top assistant coaches in the league during his time on the Boston Celtics’staff. The wunderkind, Hardy now the youngest head coach in the NBA. The Celtics wish they never let Hardy leave for Utah, because he would’ve replaced Ime Udoka after the head coach earned a one-year suspension for an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer.
The Jazz are among a handful of other teams that will tank this upcoming season for a shot at winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Wembanyama, a 7-foot-3 standout from France, is regarded as the best big man prospect in two decades. He’s projected to become the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
With a paltry win total of 24.5 o/u, the Jazz one of the two massive long shots on the board to win the Northwest at +20000 odds.
Oklahoma City Thunder +25000
After several years occupying the basement of the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder used the draft to stock their roster with numerous talented young players like Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, and Darius Bazley.
The Thunder were at the crossroads: is it time to make a run at a playoff berth, or tank for Wembanyama? It looks like the Thunder are on the tank train once again.
With multiple first-round draft picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Thunder selected Chet Holmgren with the second-overall pick and Jalen Williams with the #12 pick. After an impressive stint during NBA Summer League, Holmgren suffered a foot injury playing in a pro-am game in Seattle at the end of the summer. Holmgren will miss his entire rookie season, which is such a bummer.
The Thunder have one of the lowest win totals in the Western Conference at 23.5 o/u. At least they’ll be fun to watch, especially the exciting Giddey from Australia who dazzled fans during his rookie season last year.
With the Thunder projected to lose 55-60 games this season, they’re the moon shot on the futures board at +25000 odds to win the Northwest Division.
The post NBA Northwest Division Preview: Healthy Denver Nuggets Hold Off the Minnesota Timberwolves? appeared first on Casino.org.
