On paper how many teams..

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

This is how I see the Western Conference unfolding this season as of right now. Things definitely change if Minnesota or another team in the conference acquires Ben Simmons, but I'm not accounting for that here.

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Phoenix Suns
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Utah Jazz
5. Portland Trailblazers
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Golden State Warriors
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Memphis Grizzlies
11. Sacramento Kings
12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Oklahoma City Thunder
14. San Antonio Spurs
15. Houston Rockets

[Coolbreeze44]

This is how I see the Western Conference unfolding this season as of right now. Things definitely change if Minnesota or another team in the conference acquires Ben Simmons, but I'm not accounting for that here.

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Phoenix Suns
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Utah Jazz
5. Portland Trailblazers
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Golden State Warriors
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Memphis Grizzlies
11. Sacramento Kings
12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Oklahoma City Thunder
14. San Antonio Spurs
15. Houston Rockets

I totally disagree with your team at the top, but let me take a shot at this.

1) Denver
2) Utah
3) Phoenix
4) LA Lakers
5) Golden State
6) Dallas
7) Portland
8 New Orleans
9) LA Clippers
10) Minnesota
11) Sacramento
12) Memphis
13) San Antonio
14) Houston
15) OKC

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I've read enough about Vegas on this board. They're more right than they are wrong, but they are far from perfect. Teams prove them wrong every year. Here's how the vaunted oddsmakers did last year.

Betting lines for Western Conference teams for the 2020-2021 season:

1. Los Angeles Lakers 46.5 (actual: 42)
2. Los Angeles Clippers 45.5 (actual: 47)
3. Denver Nuggets 44.5 (actual: 47)
4. Dallas Mavericks 42.5 (actual: 42)
5. Utah Jazz 42.5 (actual: 52)
6. Portland Trail Blazers 41.5 (actual: 42)
7. Phoenix Suns 38.5 (actual: 51)
8. Golden State Warriors 36.5 (actual: 39)
9. New Orleans Pelicans 36.5 (actual: 31)
10. Houston Rockets 34.5 (actual: 17)
11. Memphis Grizzlies 30.5 (actual: 38)
12. San Antonio Spurs 29.5 (actual: 33)
13. Sacramento Kings 27.5 (actual: 31)
14. Minnesota Timberwolves 28.5 (actual: 23)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder 22.5 (actual: 22)

Six teams in the Western Conference deviated from their betting line -- over or under -- by five games or more.

Betting lines for Eastern Conference teams for the 2020-2021 season:

1. Milwaukee Bucks 49.5 (actual: 46)
2. Boston Celtics 45.5 (actual: 36)
3. Brooklyn Nets 45.5 (actual: 48)
4. Philadelphia 76ers 45.5 (actual: 49)
5. Miami Heat 44.5 (actual: 40)
6. Toronto Raptors 41.5 (actual: 27)
7. Indiana Pacers 39.5 (actual: 34)
8. Atlanta Hawks 36.5 (actual: 41)
9. Washington Wizards 32.5 (actual: 34)
10. Orlando Magic 31.5 (actual: 21)
11. Chicago Bulls 30.5 (actual: 31)
12. Charlotte Hornets 25.5 (actual: 33)
13. Detroit Pistons 23.5 (actual: 20)
14. New York Knicks 22.5 (actual: 41)
15. Cleveland Cavaliers 22.5 (actual: 22)

Six teams in the Eastern Conference deviated from their betting line -- over or under -- by five games or more.

That's 12 teams in the NBA that performed above or below what Vegas projected for them last year by five games or more. That's 40-percent of the damn league.

It's not a stretch by any means to say that Minnesota will outperform their 34.5 line in 2021-2022 by a decent amount of games for any number of reasons. Vegas is good -- very good even -- but sometimes they look silly because of a few teams. The Wolves very well could be one of those teams this season.

[FNG]

Cam and Cool, those would certainly be outstanding outcomes for the Wolves...to be in the playoff hunt would be nice for a change. And it may happen. But just to provide a reality check, here's how Vegas sees it right now:

Lakers 51.5
Jazz 51.5
Suns 50.5
Warriors 48.5
Mavs 47.5
Nuggets 47.5
Clippers 44.5
Blazers 43.5
Grizzlies 41.5
Pelicans 40.5
Kings 35.5
Wolves 33.5
Spurs 29.5
Rockets 25.5
Thunder 22.5

So Vegas has the Wolves 12th (as do I), and you guys have them 9th and 10th. Normally that would not be a big difference, but Vegas has a big drop off after 10. I hope the Wolves finally surprise us and you guys are right, but I'm going with 34 wins and 12th in the conference.

I used to love to bet win totals in my gambling days and had a lot of success with my system. I would independently come up with my win totals, and bet any one that was 5 or more games different from Vegas. This year it looks like you guys should both be betting heavily on the over for the Wolves (always a reliable bet ;) ) and Cam should bet the under on Golden State and New Orleans and Cool the under on Memphis. Personally, I would join Cool with an under bet on Memphis, and I would join Cam with an under bet on the Pelicans. I think even without the disruption of Ida (do they even have power in their arena?) they wouldn't win 40 games.

[FNG]

I've read enough about Vegas on this board. They're more right than they are wrong, but they are far from perfect. Teams prove them wrong every year. Here's how the vaunted oddsmakers did last year.

Betting lines for Western Conference teams for the 2020-2021 season:

1. Los Angeles Lakers 46.5 (actual: 42)
2. Los Angeles Clippers 45.5 (actual: 47)
3. Denver Nuggets 44.5 (actual: 47)
4. Dallas Mavericks 42.5 (actual: 42)
5. Utah Jazz 42.5 (actual: 52)
6. Portland Trail Blazers 41.5 (actual: 42)
7. Phoenix Suns 38.5 (actual: 51)
8. Golden State Warriors 36.5 (actual: 39)
9. New Orleans Pelicans 36.5 (actual: 31)
10. Houston Rockets 34.5 (actual: 17)
11. Memphis Grizzlies 30.5 (actual: 38)
12. San Antonio Spurs 29.5 (actual: 33)
13. Sacramento Kings 27.5 (actual: 31)
14. Minnesota Timberwolves 28.5 (actual: 23)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder 22.5 (actual: 22)

Six teams in the Western Conference deviated from their betting line -- over or under -- by five games or more.

Betting lines for Eastern Conference teams for the 2020-2021 season:

1. Milwaukee Bucks 49.5 (actual: 46)
2. Boston Celtics 45.5 (actual: 36)
3. Brooklyn Nets 45.5 (actual: 48)
4. Philadelphia 76ers 45.5 (actual: 49)
5. Miami Heat 44.5 (actual: 40)
6. Toronto Raptors 41.5 (actual: 27)
7. Indiana Pacers 39.5 (actual: 34)
8. Atlanta Hawks 36.5 (actual: 41)
9. Washington Wizards 32.5 (actual: 34)
10. Orlando Magic 31.5 (actual: 21)
11. Chicago Bulls 30.5 (actual: 31)
12. Charlotte Hornets 25.5 (actual: 33)
13. Detroit Pistons 23.5 (actual: 20)
14. New York Knicks 22.5 (actual: 41)
15. Cleveland Cavaliers 22.5 (actual: 22)

Six teams in the Eastern Conference deviated from their betting line -- over or under -- by five games or more.

That's 12 teams in the NBA that performed above or below what Vegas projected for them last year by five games or more. That's 40-percent of the damn league.

It's not a stretch by any means to say that Minnesota will outperform their 34.5 line in 2021-2022 by a decent amount of games for any number of reasons. Vegas is good -- very good even -- but sometimes they look silly because of a few teams. The Wolves very well could be one of those teams this season.

Yep, I found last year one of the wonkeist years ever in the NBA, and sure...Vegas isn't perfect. But try another exercise...see how many times the Wolves have beaten the Vegas win total in the past 10 years. Maybe the Butler year, but I wonder if there were any others. I don't know what it is, but betting the Wolves to go over the win total is like betting the Twins are finally going to win a playoff game. Or that Charlie Brown is finally going to kick that football. But the law of averages has to kick in at some point, doesn't it?

[Coolbreeze44]

Cam and Cool, those would certainly be outstanding outcomes for the Wolves...to be in the playoff hunt would be nice for a change. And it may happen. But just to provide a reality check, here's how Vegas sees it right now:

Lakers 51.5
Jazz 51.5
Suns 50.5
Warriors 48.5
Mavs 47.5
Nuggets 47.5
Clippers 44.5
Blazers 43.5
Grizzlies 41.5
Pelicans 40.5
Kings 35.5
Wolves 33.5
Spurs 29.5
Rockets 25.5
Thunder 22.5

So Vegas has the Wolves 12th (as do I), and you guys have them 9th and 10th. Normally that would not be a big difference, but Vegas has a big drop off after 10. I hope the Wolves finally surprise us and you guys are right, but I'm going with 34 wins and 12th in the conference.

I used to love to bet win totals in my gambling days and had a lot of success with my system. I would independently come up with my win totals, and bet any one that was 5 or more games different from Vegas. This year it looks like you guys should both be betting heavily on the over for the Wolves (always a reliable bet ;) ) and Cam should bet the under on Golden State and New Orleans and Cool the under on Memphis. Personally, I would join Cool with an under bet on Memphis, and I would join Cam with an under bet on the Pelicans. I think even without the disruption of Ida (do they even have power in their arena?) they wouldn't win 40 games.

FNG, look how close the margin is between the top 6 teams, a total of 4 wins. That tells me anything can happen this year in the West. The big thing is going to be games missed, especially for the Lakers. Watch for the healthiest teams to fill the top spots.

[FNG]

Cam and Cool, those would certainly be outstanding outcomes for the Wolves...to be in the playoff hunt would be nice for a change. And it may happen. But just to provide a reality check, here's how Vegas sees it right now:

Lakers 51.5
Jazz 51.5
Suns 50.5
Warriors 48.5
Mavs 47.5
Nuggets 47.5
Clippers 44.5
Blazers 43.5
Grizzlies 41.5
Pelicans 40.5
Kings 35.5
Wolves 33.5
Spurs 29.5
Rockets 25.5
Thunder 22.5

So Vegas has the Wolves 12th (as do I), and you guys have them 9th and 10th. Normally that would not be a big difference, but Vegas has a big drop off after 10. I hope the Wolves finally surprise us and you guys are right, but I'm going with 34 wins and 12th in the conference.

I used to love to bet win totals in my gambling days and had a lot of success with my system. I would independently come up with my win totals, and bet any one that was 5 or more games different from Vegas. This year it looks like you guys should both be betting heavily on the over for the Wolves (always a reliable bet ;) ) and Cam should bet the under on Golden State and New Orleans and Cool the under on Memphis. Personally, I would join Cool with an under bet on Memphis, and I would join Cam with an under bet on the Pelicans. I think even without the disruption of Ida (do they even have power in their arena?) they wouldn't win 40 games.

FNG, look how close the margin is between the top 6 teams, a total of 4 wins. That tells me anything can happen this year in the West. The big thing is going to be games missed, especially for the Lakers. Watch for the healthiest teams to fill the top spots.

Yeah, I noticed that...that's a real log jam at the top. In contrast the East has a 12 game spread between the 1st and 6th place teams. Yep, health may be more important than ever in the West this year, just like the playoffs last year.

[Coolbreeze44]

If we get Simmons, I think we're comfortably in the top 6. I know that sounds optimistic, but he is a needle mover.

[FNG]

If we get Simmons, I think we're comfortably in the top 6. I know that sounds optimistic, but he is a needle mover.

I know I'm one of the biggest Simmons bobos here, but I even have us threatening to crack the top 4 with him at PF.

[Lipoli390]

If we get Simmons, I think we're comfortably in the top 6. I know that sounds optimistic, but he is a needle mover.

I can see that, but it depends on what we give up to get him.