How will the West be won?
With the NBA season coming to a close, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is all but sewed up, as the Boston Celtics own an 11.5-game lead as of Sunday afternoon.
The Western Conference, however, is a different story, as the top three teams — the Thunder, Nuggets and Timberwolves — are all within 1.5 games of each other.
As of Sunday afternoon, OKC leads the standings at 49-20. Denver is virtually tied at 50-21, and Minnesota is 1.5 games back at 48-22.
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Let’s check out the odds for which team will win the Western Conference at DraftKings Sportsbook.
WESTERN CONFERENCE NO. 1 SEED: *
Denver Nuggets: -285 (bet $10 to win $13.51 total)
Oklahoma City Thunder: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
Minnesota Timberwolves: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
* odds as of 3/24/24
It appears injuries will play at least some role in the race to win the top seed in the conference.
Recently, the Wolves lost All-Star center Karl Anthony-Towns to a torn left meniscus. He underwent a surgical procedure to repair the meniscus, and Minnesota is holding out hope that he can return for the playoffs.
In terms of Denver and OKC, they’ve faced off four times this season, with OKC winning three of those matchups. If the two teams finish the season with the exact same record, OKC will win the tiebreaker due to head-to-head record.
As of Sunday, according to Tankathon.com, the Thunder have the fourth-toughest remaining schedule. The Wolves have the 19th, and the Nuggets have the 24th.
Minnesota and Denver will face off twice more (the season series is 1-1).
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