NBA Recap: Pacific Division

We're now to the Western Conference of the NBA in our recap of teams that played from 62-67 games before the league halted play on March 11 after Utah center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. We'll analyze each team by division in the NBA and list them in order of their SU record. But we're also going to look at some of the handicapping stats, trends and angles, because once the NBA returns, you'll need a refresher course on how each team has fared overall after the stoppage is over.

Pacific Division:

1)Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 49-14 SU, 35-27-1 ATS, 30-33 O/U, 33-7 Western Conference

Odds from Vegas Insider: NBA Finals (2-1), West Finals (6-5)

Western Conference Ranking: 1st (5.5 games up on the Clippers)

Recap:

The Lakers won the West Division when they picked up center Anthony Davis in a major trade in the offseason. Teaming LeBron James and Davis together have proven nearly unbeatable. When healthy, Davis is the premier big man in the game. He's averaging 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 3.1 assists on 51.1% shooting (33.5% 3pt). He has also missed eight games, but that's part of his history and the Lakers will rest him when needed. James has been renewed as a point-forward, coming off a rare injury-plagued season. Now with Davis and a decent group of role players, he's focused on winning his fourth NBA title and first since 2016. James leads the league with 10.6 assists per game, while averaging 25.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. He's shooting 49.8% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc with 3.9 turnovers per game. At 35 and 6-9, 250-pound, he's still the most dominant player in the game.

As good as Davis and James are, the Lakers will win another title if their role players stepped up. For the most part, they have. Kyle Kuzman would put up bigger numbers on most teams, but on the "Lake Show", he's putting up mediocre numbers (12.5ppg, 4.5rpg, 43.2%). He's playing just 24 minutes per game because James can play either forward spot. They also added Markieff Morris (10.1ppg, 3.8rpg) as an enforcer-type, who can produce some offense. The backcourt is not very explosive, but they have several options. Avery Bradley (8.6ppg, 36.4% 3pt), Rajon Rondo (7.1ppg, 5.0apg) and Danny Green (8.2ppg, 37.8% 3pt) are all players with postseason experience and can defend. When the Lakers need to go big or replace Davis, JaVale McGee (7-0, 270, 6.8ppg, 5.8rpg) and Dwight Howard (7.5ppg, 7.4rpg) are capable of giving the Lakers 10-15 quality minutes, if not more.

The Lakers lead the league in field goal percentage (48.5%) and rank fourth in three-point defense (34.2%).

Key injuries: none.

Strengths: Davis is the best big man in the game and LeBron is still a top three player. Maybe top one though his defense isn't quite strong as it used to be. James is also one of the smartest players in the game and has the experience. This is a pretty deep team that doesn't have to rely on any youngsters aside from Kuzma. That's probably what James wanted. More experienced role players with playoff experience like Rondo and Green. Defensively, the Lakers are underrated. They allow just 44.4% shooting from the field.

Weaknesses: Three-point shooting. They shoot just 35.5% from beyond the arc (17th) and could have used (J.J. Redick?) one more shooter aside from Green. Davis and LeBron can hit a three, but they aren't consistent. As great as AD is, he has played in just 13 playoff games at 27.

Gambling Outlook: The Lakers covered four of their last five games, but ended with a two-point loss at home to Brooklyn. That was probably due to an emotional letdown after beating the Clippers two days before and beating the Bucks at home by 10 two days before that. However, they are 1-2 against the Clippers this season and lost to Milwaukee on the road in the first matchup. Those are their two biggest challengers, but they are the favorite for a reason. When focused, it would be tough to go against James and Davis.

2)Los Angeles Clippers

Record: 44-20 SU, 35-29 ATS, 29-34-1 O/U, 27-14 Western Conference

Odds from Vegas Insider: NBA Finals (3-1), West Finals (3-2)

Western Conference Ranking: 2nd (5.5 games behind Lakers for first place; 1.5 games ahead of Denver)

Recap:

The Clippers are likely to finish in second place in the West, which isn't a bad thing. Ultimately, homecourt advantage in the finals means very little, because they'll be playing at home, where the Lakers are going to have more fans. But finishing second is key, because they don't want to finish third behind Denver and then would lose homecourt advantage. In their last game against Denver, they beat them 132-103 at home on Feb. 28. This may be irrelevant if the regular season is canceled, but who knows at this point. Ultimately, the Clippers will have to beat the Lakers to get to the NBA Finals and potentially win their first title.

Toronto had never even visited the NBA Finals before Kawhi Leonard got their for one season. Leonard (26.9ppg, 46.9%, 36.6% 3pt, 7.3rpg, 5.0apg) hopes to win his third title with three different teams. Leonard joined the Clippers along with Paul George (21ppg, 5.7rpg, 39.9% 3pt, 43.2% FG) to attempt to win a title. But George has played in just 42 games and Leonard in 51, mainly due to "load management". That shouldn't matter in the playoffs, though the fact that both stars have played in so few games together is a concern.

What isn't a concern is scoring and defense. When Leonard and George are on the floor, they have two of the best perimeter defenders in the game. Now throw in Patrick Beverley (7.9ppg, 3.7apg, 5.4rpg, 1.1spg), the most annoying point guard defender in the NBA. Montrezl Harrell (6-7, 240) can play as an undersized center and is having a career season with 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds, mainly scoring in the paint because he has no three-point shot. They added Marcus Morris (17.4ppg, 5.1rpg), who was putting up nearly 20 points on a bad Knicks team and is now a basic role player on the Clippers. Center Ivica Zubac (8ppg, 7.2rpg) is a really good rebounder and puts up strong numbers in just 18.1mpg. Then you add Lou Williams (18.7ppg, 36.3% 3pt, 5.7apg) has become more than just a gunner off the bench. He played in just eight minutes in the last Lakers game (112-103 loss) due to a calf injury and that might have been the difference.

Key Injuries: none.

Strengths: Defense. They rank third in field goal pecentage defense (43.6%) and second in three-point defense (34.1%). This is a very deep team that can bring Marcus Morris, Lou Williams, Reggie Jackson, and Landry Shamet off the bench. Even players like Patrick Patterson and JaMychael Green (6.5ppg, 6.3rpg) can contribute.

Weaknesses: If they have a weakness, it's that they don't have a lot of length up front. The big question is how do they match up with Anthony Davis? Zubac is 7-feet but a limited player. Harrell is only 6-7 and they have no real size off the bench.

Gambling Outlook:

The Clippers covered three of their last four games, but that lone loss came against the Lakers. They have also lost to Milwaukee twice, including a 5-point loss at home. The home loss came without George and Leonard, though they both played in the blowout road defeat. So it's tough to judge this team because when healthy, they might be the deepest team in the league with very few weaknesses. The lack of a true big man might come back to haunt them in the end.

3)Sacramento Kings

Record: 28-36 SU, 33-29-2 ATS, 34-30 O/U, 20-20 Western Conference

Odds from Vegas Insider: NBA Finals (2000-1), West Finals (1000-1)

Western Conference Ranking: 11th (4.5 games out of the last playoff spot)

Recap:

It's hard not to like the direction of the Kings right now. Maybe. A lot will depend on young players D'Aaron Fox (20.4ppg, 30.7% 3pt and 6.8apg) and Buddy Hield (19.8ppg, 39.5% 3pt). Both seem to be on their way to stardom, but after that, the Kings have major question marks. It starts up front with Marvin Bagley (6-11, 235), who averages 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, before suffering a foot injury in January. He played in just 13 games after playing in 62 last season as a rookie.

Ultimately, this is a team that needs an identity and maybe an experienced player who has playoff experience. That's the next step for a team that won four of their last six games. They hope that Harrison Barnes (14.7ppg, 38.3% 3pt) is that guy, though at 28, having been with three teams, he's headed to being a well-paid journeyman. Bogdan Bogdanovic (14.5ppg, 36.1% 3pt, 3.2apg) has decent size for a wing at 6-6, 220, but he will be 28 next season. They also traded for Jabari Parker (14.7ppg, 5.9rpg) from Atlanta, but he's played in just one game. His defense has been the main reason he's played for five teams and is just 25.

Defense isn't the only problem. They shoot 45.9% from the field (17th) and 36.4% from beyond the arc (11th), but they average just 109 points (23rd) per game. They also rank 24th in rebounding percentage.

Key Injuries: C Marvin Bagley (foot) is questionable.

Strengths: Fox is the fastest guard in the NBA, especially now that John Wall is on the sidelines. Richaun Holmes (6-10, 250) is a strong rebounder (8.3rpg) and missed two months of action, but returned for the last two games. They have an outstanding shooter in Hield.

Weaknesses: Direction. Where are they going? Vlade Divac is on the clock. He needs better defenders and a young small forward that can create and score, not just shoot threes.

Gambling Outlook: Hard not to like Fox and Hield. The rest of the team is shaky, but they do have scorers in Bogdanovic, Barnes and even Parker. They just need more balance and some players who actually want to defend. In the last four games, they went over, but that's after five straight unders. They've also covered seven of their last 10 games.

4)Phoenix Suns

Record: 26-39 SU, 29-35-1 ATS, 33-32 O/U, 15-27 Western Conference

Odds from Vegas Insider: NBA Finals (9999-1), West Finals (5000-1)

Western Conference Ranking: 13th (seven games behind the 8th spot)

Recap:

There Suns have been around since 1968 and have yet to win an NBA title. They haven't been in the playoffs since the 2009-10 season. This franchise is looking for some hope, but this was supposed to be the turnaround season with the addition of Ricky Rubio (13.1ppg, 8.9apg), an underrated defender and sharp playmaker. They have one of the best young players in the league in Devin Booker (26.1ppg, 6.6apg, 36% 3pt) and a young, explosive wing in Kelly Oubre (18.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 35.2% 3pt) and another under 25 player in 6-11 DeAndre Ayton (19ppg, 12rpg).

However, Ayton was suspended for 25 games earlier in the season due to violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for a diuretic. https://www.nba.com/article/2019/10/24/ap-suns-deandre-ayton-suspended-25-games

All this young talent hasn't translated to the defensive end, where they are allowing 113.9 points per game (21st), 47.5% shooting (22nd) and 36.8% (23rd) from beyond the arc. Offensively, they struggle shooting from long distance, averaging 35.3% (19th). In terms of rebounding, they obviously have missed Ayton as they rank last in the league in rebounding percentage and last in defensive rebounding percentage.

Key Injuries: F Kelly Oubre (knee) is questionable. Could return after knee surgery.

Strengths: Youth. Athleticism. Oubre and Booker are exciting, high-octane players. Rubio can set them up. Ayton is a potential All-Star if he can stay on the floor.

Weaknesses: Defense. Rebounding. They can't rebound with or without Ayton on the floor. Dario Saric (6-10, 225) is not the answer at power forward. He does not put the "power" in power forward. That's what this team usually misses and that's grit.

Gambling Outlook: The Suns weren't healthy or together most of the season, so it was tough to bet on them. Just when you think they are a good over team and they did end going over in three of four games. They also had streaks where they went under in five of six in February. It's a time that's hard to trust, but their year might be over. If they add a few more gritty players and a quality power forward, they could finally get back to the playoffs next season.

5)Golden State Warriors

Record:15-50 SU, 31-34 ATS, 30-35 O/U, 9-34 Western Conference

Odds from Vegas Insider: NBA Finals (n/a), West Finals (n/a)

Western Conference Ranking: 15th (18 games behind final playoff spot).

Recap:

To go from 67 wins to 50 losses and probably 60 if there was a full season, is absolutely insane. Their season was over in the NBA Finals when Klay Thompson blew out his knee. If Kevin Durant didn't rupture his Achilles' tendon, he still would have left the Warriors. Of course, Golden State might have defeated Toronto, but we'll never know. This is a team that won two titles without Durant, so Steph Curry and Draymond Green combo should have at least made them a playoff team. But Curry broke his finger early in the season and played in just five games, averaging 20.8 points and 6.6 assists. That's a huge loss because Green (8ppg, 6.2rpg, 6.2apg) can't produce much offensively. He was also playing hurt late in the season and missed the last five games due to a knee issue.

The leading scorer all season was D'Angelo Russell (23.1ppg, 6.3apg), who Golden State ended up dealing away to Minnesota. Russell is not Thompson in terms of being a defender, but he's a better distributor. Russell and a health Curry would have been an interesting combo, but we'll never know.

As for the future, it's still about Curry, Thompson and Green. They'll have a high draft pick and Andrew Wiggins (21.8ppg, 5.1rpg), who they picked up in the T-Wolves deal. So they now have a third offensive option and while his defense and advanced metrics are not good, the other three can help hide some of his limitations. In other words, Golden State will be back next season as a contender.

Key injuries: Curry (finger) would have returned if Golden State's season continued.

Strengths: Green. Nothing really else.

Weaknesses: Golden State was throwing out a G-League team without Curry and Green late in the season. Of course, they were bad at just about everything aside from free throw shooting (80.3%). Rebounding, defense, offense, you name it. The Warriors were the worst team in the league this season and basically by design after the Curry injury.

Gambling Outlook: This was a wait-till-next season type of team. But when looking back, they were always a dog and covered three of four and four of six. These guys tried because they were playing for their careers. Other than Wiggins, you had guys like Damion Lee, Marquese Chriss, Jordan Poole, Erick Paschall and Dragan Bender. Some may stick and some will not, but they couldn't afford to just dog it. So this wasn't a bad team to bet if you could find value.