Will Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors cap off the most trying campaign of their championship era with their third straight NBA title? Could the Dubs get upset by James Harden and the Houston Rockets after narrowly escaping their conference rivals in the Western Conference Finals a year ago? Could a conferences long shot contenders upset both favorites odds to win a Western Conference title that looks like a two-team race?
NBA 2019 Western Conference Playoff Matchups Odds & Betting Predictions
“This is what we’ve been waiting for and we know what’s at stake.”
The Dubs look ahead to theirFirst Round matchup in today’s Film Session 📹 pic.twitter.com/UC8UzvX35x
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 12, 2019
With the start of the 2019 NBA playoffs at hand, let’s find out who’s squaring off in the first round in the Western Conference – and which teams are most likely to advance.
No. 1 Golden State (57-25) vs. No. 8 LA Clippers (48-34)
Golden State hits the playoffs feeling good about themselves after winning eight of their final 10 regular season contests, including a statement-making 131-104 win over their first round opponents on April 7 as an 11-point home favorite no less. While Los Angeles got absolutely phenomenal seasons out of veteran sixth man Lou Williams, blossoming power forward Montrezl Harrell and rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander, the fact remains that the warriors have five all-star caliber players on their roster and now have the look of a team ready for the real season.
Golden State averages 117.7 points per game to rank second in scoring while allowing 111.2 points per contest defensively (16th). Conversely, the Clippers average a healthy 115.1 points per game to rank fifth in scoring, but also allow 114.3 points per game defensively to rank 25th in points allowed.
- Clippers are 21-7 ATS in their last 28 vs. NBA Pacific.
- Clippers are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 road games.
- Clippers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.
- Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 2 days rest.
- Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
- Warriors are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Warriors are 9-20-1 ATS in their last 30 home games.
- Over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings.
- Clippers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Golden State.
- Road team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
No. 2 Denver (54-28) vs. No. 7 San Antonio (48-34)
The Spurs (43-37-2 ATS) closed out the regular season by winning three straight and six of nine, but they also suffered a quartet of losses over their final four games, including a pair to mediocre Charlotte and Sacramento along the way. San Antonio finished the regular season averaging 111.7 points per game (18th) while allowing 110.0 points per contest defensively (12th).
The Nuggets went a modest 5-5 over their final 10 games and Denver put up 110.7 points per contest (20th) while limiting the opposition to just 106.7 points per contest defensively to rank a stellar sixth in points allowed.
More importantly, these two Western Conference rival split their four regular season meetings with the home team winning each time and clearly, that’s good news for a Nuggets team that has home-court advantage in this series, particularly see as how San Antonio put together a pretty awful 16-25 mark on the road this season while Denver went a robust 34-7 on their home floor.
- Spurs are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- Spurs are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
- Spurs are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win.
- Spurs are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Spurs are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 vs. Western Conference
- Nuggets are 8-21 ATS in their last 29 vs. NBA Southwest.
- Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
- Spurs are 21-8 ATS in the last 29 meetings in Denver.
- Favorite is 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
- Road team is 28-13 ATS in the last 41 meetings.
No. 3 Portland (53-29) vs. No. 6 Oklahoma City (49-33)
Portland (45-36-1 ATS) hits the playoffs with some nice momentum, having won three straight and eight of their last 10 regular season games, but the Trail Blazers also lost all four regular season meetings against Oklahoma City (42-40 ATS), giving this first round matchup the look of a series that could definitely go to the lower seeded Thunder.
Portland finished the regular season averaging a healthy 114.7 points per game (6th) while allowing 110.5 points per contest defensively (14th). Oklahoma City finished the regular season averaging 114.5 points per game (7th) while allowing 111.1 points per contest defensively (15th). For this first round matchup, it seems like Oklahoma City should be the favorite, particularly seeing as how they won five straight to finish off the regular season.
- Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Thunder are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.
- Thunder are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Northwest.
- Thunder are 4-13 ATS in their last 17 vs. Western Conference.
- Trail Blazers are 7-24-2 ATS in their last 33 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
No. 4 Houston (53-29) vs. No. 5 Utah (50-32)
Houston (40-39-3 ATS) and Utah (44-36-2 ATS) both won eight of their final 10 games to hit the postseason with some nice momentum. In addition to that,m these two rivals split their four regular season meetings with Utah taking the first two and Houston getting their revenge in the next two meetings.
In this classic offense vs. defense matchup, Houston ranked 11th in scoring (113.9 ppg) while Utah limited the opposition to 106.5 points per game to rank sixth in points allowed. These two Western Conference NBA Finals hopefuls split their two regular season meetings and this series has the look of one that is going to last at least six games to me.
Keep in mind that the loser of each regular season meeting never reached the century ark and heading into the postseason, that just doesn’t bode well for a Jazz team that often struggles to score. The good news is that Utah has gone 10-3 ATS in their last 13 road games and a near-perfect 3-0-1 ATS in their four meetings against the Rockets this season.
- Jazz are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. Western Conference.
- Jazz are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Rockets are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
- Rockets are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. Western Conference.
- Rockets are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Rockets are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
- Jazz are 3-1-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
- Underdog is 3-1-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Road team is 6-1-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
