NBA Southwest Division Odds Update: Pelicans Are Flying at the Top
There are teams within the Southwest Division who are looking to make some noise come playoff time in the NBA.
It is currently a close race between a few teams in the division while the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs are falling to the wayside due to injuries and inexperienced rosters.
Let's dive into the Southwest Division odds from FanDuel Sportsbook at the end of January.
NBA Southwest Division Odds
Here are the odds for the three teams with available odds in the Southwest Division, followed by a breakdown of each team.
Team | Southwest Division Winner Odds |
---|---|
New Orleans Pelicans | -140 |
Dallas Mavericks | +110 |
Houston Rockets | +1900 |
New Orleans Pelicans (-140)
The only team in the Southwest Division to be in the top half of the league in both offensive and defensive rating is the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans own the 13th-best offensive rating (116.9) and the 10th-best defensive rating (113.2) in the NBA.
Through the team's first 47 games, the Pelicans are 26-21 and are the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans leans on its talented trio of Zion Williamson (22.0 PPG), Brandon Ingram (21.4 PPG), and C.J. McCollum (19.1 PPG).
With a well-rounded starting lineup and a solid bench, the Pelicans have the 10th-highest true-shooting percentage (59.1%) in the league. When it comes to converting shots from distance, the Pelicans are making their three-point shots at the fourth-highest clip (38.1%).
The last time the Pelicans were crowned division champions was in the 2007-2008 season when they were still called the Hornets. Nevertheless, the Pelicans are the current favorites to sit atop the Southwest Division when the regular season comes to a close.
Dallas Mavericks (+110)
Even though the Dallas Mavericks are technically ahead of the Pelicans as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with the same record of 26-21, they aren't the front runners to win the division. Luka Doncic is one of the premier superstars in the league, which was proven during his recent 73-point explosion against the Atlanta Hawks.
After acquiring Kyrie Irving in a trade last season, the Mavericks re-signed him this past offseason in hopes he'd form a dynamic duo with Doncic. While Irving is still a lethal guard on the offensive end of the court when he's healthy, he has already missed 20 games this season, and he remains out because of a thumb injury.
With a pair of All-Star guards leading the team, the Mavericks boast the ninth-best offensive efficiency (119.2), per numberFire's metrics. Dallas could use some work on the defensive end, though, with the 22nd-best defensive efficiency (118.9).
The Mavericks do a fantastic job at avoiding turnovers as they are registering the sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.09). Being that the Mavericks don't have an extremely deep roster, they are entirely reliant on the health of Doncic and Irving down the stretch.
Houston Rockets (+1900)
If the NBA playoffs were to begin today, the Houston Rockets would be on the outside looking in. Under new head coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets have had a back-and-forth campaign that began with a six-game winning streak sandwiched in between two three-game losing skids.
Besides adding a veteran presence in Fred VanVleet to orchestrate the offense, the Rockets have gotten positive development from their young core of Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and Jabari Smith. Sengun leads the team in points (21.9), rebounds (9.2), and field-goal percentage (54.3%), which has led to him earning the second-best odds (+300) of winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award in the NBA Awards market on FanDuel Sportsbook.
While Houston has the seventh-best defensive rating (112.4), it owns the 20th-best offensive rating (113.6) in the Association. Defending the rim has been a strong suit for the Rockets all season, allowing the fourth-fewest points in the paint per game (46.3).
The Rockets are an inexperienced squad that is going to need time for their marquee players to develop before they are comfortably playoff contenders. Even though it's a long shot for the Rockets to win the Southwest, they are only 3.5 games back of both the Mavericks and the Pelicans.
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