Updated Pacific Division odds with tight race expected between Suns, Clippers, Warriors & Kings

We are almost at the three-month mark of the 2022-23 NBA season and things are not going as expected. That is especially the case with the teams in the Pacific Division. Whoever followed any strategy to win NBA bets, is probably not on the right path to do that when it comes to the winner of the NBA Pacific division. Given the current standings, we are going to take a deeper look at the NBA Pacific Division odds 2022-23.

NBA Pacific Division odds 2022-23

All odds taken January 06 at FanDuel Sportsbook

The bookmakers have a real tough task to set the NBA Pacific Division odds 2022-23 at the moment as the defending champions Golden State Warriors are in fourth place in the division.

Maybe even harder to believe is the fact that the Sacramento Kings, the team with the longest Playoff drought in all four American major leagues, is on the top while the Los Angeles Lakers are at the bottom. So, let’s dive in deeper into the NBA Pacific Division odds 2022-23.

5. Lakers

The Lakers are the biggest disappointment this season in the NBA and given the odds, they are in a point of no return. The Lakers are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference and if many were surprised when they missed the Play-In tournament last season, that will not be the case if they fail again this time around.

The only bright thing about the Lakers is LeBron James, who recently turned 38 and went over 40 points in the first two games following his birthday. Everyone is excited about him getting closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s record and it’s only a matter of time before James becomes the NBA all-time leading scorer.

He is playing so well that his name is being mentioned in the NBA MVP race. Aside James, Anthony Davis is still recovering from an ankle injury that will keep him away for more than a month. Russell Westbrook has shown some signs of improvement, but it is hard to believe that the Lakers will go any higher than the last spot in the Pacific Division.

4. Kings

The Kings are currently the leading team in the Pacific Division but given the odds, they will not stay on top for much longer. The last time the Kings made it to the Playoffs was in the 2005-06 season and their fans are hoping to break the curse this season.

Mike Brown‘s team was on a seven-game winning streak at one point during the season and got respect from the entire league. De’Aaron Fox is probably the fastest player in the league and he is on the way to make his All-Star debut this season.

The 25-year-old point guard is averaging over 23 points per game with six assists and 50% shooting from the field. Domantas Sabonis is another player who has huge impact on the Kings’ recent success. The Lithuanian power forward is averaging double-double with 18.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.

3. Warriors

The defending champions are having a difficult first couple of months of the season. After a slow start many believed that the Warriors would pull themselves together by this point but that is still not the case. The Warriors are in the bottom half of the standings in the Western Conference and, believe it or not, they have the worst road record in the entire league at this point winning only three of 19 road games.

Before getting injured, Steph Curry was playing arguably his best ever basketball, averaging 30 points per game and proving that he is one of the greatest point guards in NBA history.

With Curry and Andrew Wiggins being out, Jordan Poole has taken over. The young shooting guard is averaging over 20 points per game showing that the Warriors made no mistake signing him to a $140 million contract extension last summer. When Curry comes back, the Warriors are expected to get their game to another level and get close to the top of the standings in the conference and maybe even win the Pacific Division.

2. Clippers

Another team that has been struggling with injuries this season is the Los Angeles Clippers. Kawhi Leonard needed some more time to fully recover from the ACL injury and Paul George also missed significant time.

Luckily for coach Ty Lue, the Clippers made a strong team that didn’t sink while their top two players were sidelined. The Clippers have been constantly among the top six teams in the conference proving that they are one of the top contenders in the West when healthy.

Center Ivica Zubac and forward Norman Powell have made a huge step forward in their impact on the team and the Clippers are the second favorites to win the division this season.

1. Suns

Given the odds and any basketball betting guide, the Phoenix Suns are the top favorites to win the Pacific Division this season. The 2021 NBA Finalists were on top of the conference for the most part of October and November but once Devin Booker went down with an injury, things collapsed.

The Suns lost five straight games in the first half of November and lost five of six to end December. It is quite obvious that the Suns depend a lot on their shooting guard and are definitely not the same team with him being out.

However, Booker is about to return, and the Suns will pick up their form right away. With Chris Paul running the offense and Deandre Ayton being one of the best two-way big men in the league, coach Monty Williams has nothing to worry about.