Burn City Best Bets: Western Conference Over/Under Win Totals (Part 2)
The start of the NBA season is less than two weeks away. There are so many bets to be made. One of the season long bets is over/under win totals. What teams will exceed expectations and which teams will not meet their expectations?
Los Angeles Lakers 46.5 Wins
Last season the Los Angeles Lakers were a completely different team at the end of the season compared to the start. They made lots of moves around the trade deadline that improved their roster. The Lakers went from being outside of the play-in tournament to getting the seven seed. Los Angeles finished the regular season with a record of 43-39.
Once they got into the playoffs, the Lakers were able to make a deep run to the conference finals. They fell to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
This will be the first full season where LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing with Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt along with the new additions of Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood.
The team has to play with an urgency this year. This can be said for every team but it is even more of a reality for a team when one of the stars is entering their 21st season in the league. LeBron James has outran father time longer than anyone in NBA history but this may be his last year as a top ten type player.
The urgency around this season and the improved roster with more time together all points to TAKING THE OVER!
Memphis Grizzlies 45.5 Wins
The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the better teams during the regular season last year. They finished with the second best record in the western conference, 51-31.
Memphis was dealing with injuries to both Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke going into the playoffs. They lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Lakers.
This off-season they made some big moves like adding Marcus Smart to the roster. Smart will play a major role in the Grizzlies going over or under 45.5 wins.
He is set to be the starting point guard as Ja Morant serves his 25-game suspension. Last season the Grizzlies went 11-10 without Morant.
The meshing of new pieces like Smart and Derrick Rose with the absence of Morant to start the season screams, TAKE THE UNDER! Don’t ignore the scream.
Minnesota Timberwolves 44.5 Wins
The Minnesota Timberwolves finished with a record of 42-40 last season. This was good enough for the eight seed in the playoffs. Karl Anthony-Towns was only able to play 29 games for Minnesota last season.
The big question for this team was how effective would the big man duo of Towns and Rudy Gobert be together? Would Towns be able to guard opposing power forwards? Would Gobert cause a lack of spacing for Anthony Edwards? Those questions are still mostly unanswered due to Towns missing most of last season.
Anthony Edwards was the best player on Team USA during the FIBA World Cup and looks set to take a huge jump this season. The improvement in Edwards’ game, along with the team having a full season to learn how to play with each other, points to the team doing well. This team may be a stay away but the over is very enticing.
New Orleans Pelicans 44.5 Wins
The New Orleans Pelicans may as well change their name to the New Orleans “If Healthys” . This team’s biggest opponent has been health over the last few years. The first name that comes up when it comes to New Orleans’ health issues is Zion Williamson.
This make perfect sense as he has only played more than 30 games in a season, once in his career. Williamson played 61 games in the 2020-21 season. That season is what gives Pelicans’ fans hope. They know it is possible for Williamson to get through a season.
Williamson isn’t the only one who has dealt with injuries during this time. Brandon Ingram only played in 45 games last season. The “big 3” of Williamson, Ingram, and CJ McCollum have only played 10 games together.
If this team can stay healthy the sky is the limit. They were at the top of the western conference standings when Williamson went down with a hamstring injury last season. It is a huge risk to make any season long bets on this team but if they can stay on the court the over should be easily attainable.
Oklahoma City Thunder 44.5 Wins
The Oklahoma City Thunder just missed the playoffs last year as they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the game for the last playoff spot. They finished the regular season with a record of 40-42. They had one of the biggest breakout players in the league last season
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was voted to the All-NBA first team as he averaged 31.4 points and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 51% from the floor. Another player who stood out was Josh Giddey. Giddey averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. To go along with these two excellent players the Thunder are adding rookie of the year candidate Chet Holmgren to the mix.
This team is set to take a huge jump in wins. TAKE THE OVER!
The over/under win totals in this article are from FanDuel. They may be different on other betting sites and/or apps. Please remember to bet responsibly!
There are more over/under win total predictions. Here is part one. Look out for part three.
