If you think World Series betting will be competitive this season, watch out for the NBA\u2019s Southwest Division this season. Depending on how the chips fall, three teams have a chance to finish first.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s try to navigate these choppy waters with our NBA futures analysis.<\/p>\n
SAN ANTONIO SPURS<\/strong> There are two things we know about the San Antonio Spurs this season: (a) they\u2019re built to win now and (b) they will win now. While Tim Duncan\u2019s best years are behind him and Manu Ginobli can\u2019t seem to stay healthy, the Spurs still give us plenty to like. After they acquired Richard Jefferson and drafted DeJuan Blair in a second-round steal, the Spurs earned their peers\u2019 respect. According to a poll, 72.1 per cent of NBA general managers feel the Spurs made the best offseason transactions.<\/p>\n Adding Jefferson, Blair and underrated Antonio McDyess means the Spurs suddenly aren\u2019t that team that implodes when one or two big stars go down. This is a deep, talented, cohesive group that could challenge the Lakers for Western Conference supremacy.<\/p>\n DALLAS MAVERICKS<\/strong> Like the Spurs, Mark Cuban\u2019s Mavericks were busy in the offseason. After they added Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas while losing nothing really noteworthy, it\u2019s safe to say the Mavs got \u201cbetter.\u201d Unfortunately, many other teams in the always-competitive Western Conference improved too, so it\u2019s tough to say if the Mavs gained ground on anyone this offseason.<\/p>\n Thanks to a rejuvenated Dirk Nowitzki and the presence of Marion and Josh Howard, these guys will score. However, it\u2019s tough to imagine this injury-prone group improving much on last year\u2019s ho-hum season. Dallas lovers are better off trying the Cowboys\u2019 NFL odds, for what that\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n NEW ORLEANS HORNETS<\/strong> The Hornets were an online betting bust last season, regressing after seriously contending in 2007-08, but they won\u2019t let you tell them they\u2019re moving backwards. A potentially major difference maker this season could be newly acquired Emeka Okafor, who will give the Hornets low-post scoring ability and strength on defense. The Hornets are hoping Okafor will blossom into more of a scorer. If he does, they\u2019ll get the offense they sorely needed last year and climb back up the standings.<\/p>\n HOUSTON ROCKETS<\/strong> If you offered most Rockets fans a chance to sleep through the entire 2009-10 season, they\u2019d probably take it. Sure, Shane Battier is a solid defender and Trevor Ariza could blossom as a starter in the backcourt, but let\u2019s get serious: the Rockets are without Yao Ming all season (foot surgery) and Tracy McGrady for at least the first month (microfracture in knee). There\u2019s just no way Houston has the horses to compete with other Western powerhouses.<\/p>\n MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES<\/strong> Picking the Grizzlies to win this tough division is like hopping on the Blue Jays\u2019 or Orioles\u2019 World Series odds in the American League East: it just ain\u2019t gonna happen. The Grizzlies have some playmakers in Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph but can\u2019t get consistency from any of them. Allen Iverson is no guarantee to help things at all, No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet has no semblance of an offensive game right now (though he\u2019s a wall on defense) and it\u2019s too early to tell what Sam Young can do. Wait until at least next year for the Grizz.<\/p>\n The more I examine the Spurs roster, the more excited I am about San Antonio\u2019s prospects of joining powerhouses Los Angeles, Cleveland, Orlando and Boston among the NBA\u2019s elite this season. Tim Duncan still has another good year left in him and, even if he gets hurt, the Spurs have lots of talent to back him up \u2013 far more than they\u2019ve had in years. Pick San Antonio to win the Southwest. Quick article by Poolside Rants our resident NBA betting expert detailing the 2009 Southwest divisions season nba predictions and future team odds and season preview…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[41,19221,19222,18941,18945,3942,10810,9274,3925,19229,19223,19224,19225,19226,19227],"class_list":["post-15025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nba","tag-41","tag-2009-southwest-division-picks","tag-2009-southwest-division-predictions","tag-divisional-nba-futures","tag-nba-basketball-gambling-predictions","tag-nba-handicapping","tag-nba-hoops-handicapping","tag-nba-hoops-picks","tag-nba-predictions","tag-odds-to-win-nba-southwest-division","tag-southwest-division-basketball-lines","tag-southwest-division-betting-odds","tag-southwest-division-nba","tag-southwest-division-nba-season-picks","tag-southwest-division-odds-to-win"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15025"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109629,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025\/revisions\/109629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nOdds to win Southwest Division: -250<\/p>\n
\nOdds to win Southwest Division: +300<\/p>\n
\nOdds to win Southwest Division: +900<\/p>\n The goal in New Orleans is to push for a championship this year, believe it or not. The Hornets have major talent in Chris Paul, whom most consider the best point guard in the game, and fellow All-Star David West, one of the league\u2019s top power forwards.<\/p>\n
\nOdds to win Southwest Division: +1000<\/p>\n
\nOdds to win Southwest Division: +8000<\/p>\n2009 Southwest Division Pick<\/h3>\n
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