The bookmakers in Las Vegas are currently busy. On Monday afternoon, for example, it became known: Russell Westbrook is staying in Los Angeles. Not with the Lakers, who traded him to Utah last week. Westbrook will not wear the number 71 Jazz jersey, he has agreed to terminate his contract and will play the remainder of the season with Lakers city rivals Clippers. Their odds on the title fell immediately, from 14 to ten, so if you bet ten dollars on Monday morning, you would get $140 if the Clippers triumphed. If you bet after the deal was announced, you would only get 100. From this point of view, the Clippers made a good catch with Westbrook, their title would no longer come as a surprise.
Westbrook is one of the most prominent basketball players in the NBA: He was named the league’s most valuable player in 2017. At the age of 34, however, he is at the height of the athlete’s midlife crisis: he himself believes that he is still extremely valuable and should be treated as such; many others, including Lakers colleagues, see it differently: he was considered a disruptive factor there. The symbol of this was the evening on which LeBron James became the most successful point collector in NBA history: Westbrook had played the pass to the record basket, but left the hall after the game without a nice word for James.
Is Westbrook now increasing the Clippers’ chances of winning the title – or has the franchise laid an egg in the nest with his signing? Bill Plaschke, basketball columnist Los Angeles Times, is pretty sure: “This is really, really stupid.” Westbrook is a “stink bomb”.
This is how it is in US basketball around the All-Star weekend. Shortly before that the deadline for barter transactions ends, immediately after that there are last deals. Players are fetched and immediately sent away again, and more than two teams are involved in numerous transactions. Every transfer, every signature changes the situation, especially for title candidates. It’s a shambles, so betting odds in the US are a reliable barometer of who has actually improved. So here is the new NBA order based on the eight Las Vegas favorites.
Kyrie Irving (No. 2) and Luka Doncic (77) make up the NBA’s most dangerous offensive duo in Dallas, but someone has to defend if the Mavs want to become champions.
(Photo: Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)
Eighth place: Dallas Mavericks
Another disruptive debate: Kyrie Irving is one of the best pitchers in the league. But he’s also known for wreaking havoc at his last clubs, the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets – not so much on the pitch as off it, for example with a post on Twitter promoting a film with anti-Semitic content he was in favor of only half-heartedly apologized. The sporting start in Dallas was successful, but two concerns remain: Mavs leader Luca Doncic also likes to have the ball in his hands; Experiments with two playmakers (Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston or Irving and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn) have often failed recently. Also: Who in this squad can actually defend at title level?
Odds: 16:1
Sixth place (tied): Golden State Warriors
Trying to square the circle this season, ie: nurturing young players while being competitive again with the icons of the four titles in eight seasons (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green). Therefore brought back Gary Payton II from Portland, who was an important factor in the 2022 title due to his defensive qualities. Only: Payton is injured, the Warriors only found out very late that he would be out for several weeks. “We need a boost now, that was one of the reasons for the deal,” says coach Steve Kerr: “It’s frustrating that he’s missing now.” Because Curry is also injured, the playoff participation is in danger. However: Who bets against the Kerr-Curry-Thompson-Green combo?
Odds: 12:1
Sixth place (tied): Philadelphia 76ers
“Trust the Process” has been the motto in Philadelphia for … well, how long actually? The 76ers seem more and more like the wrong-way driver, who in the flashing oncoming traffic claims to be the only one on the right track. It is therefore interesting to whom Philadelphia everything not got: Thomas Bryant (Denver Nuggets), Mason Plumlee (Clippers), Mike Muscala (Celtics) – and then Kevin Love signed in Miami over the weekend, despite previously meeting with the 76ers. So there were hardly any players who trusted the process in Philadelphia.
Odds: 12:1
Fifth place: Los Angeles Clippers
The Westbrook signing is the icing on the cake of an interesting new move manager Lawrence Frank has made: he ended the experiment with John Wall and brought in backup center Plumlee and variable bones Hyland and Eric Gordon. Terance Mann is a regular playmaker, a very good defender who could share playing time with Westbrook. Anyone who has been following the Clippers for the last time should have noticed that when the often injured Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are fit, LA plays altruistic offensive basketball and can defend against just about any opponent. The house is stable.
Russell Westbrook likes to dunk, but he’s not getting any younger and is becoming less and less likely to dunk the basket that way. How is he doing with the Clippers now?
(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
Westbrook can therefore also be a sham trump that shakes the house of cards. It can be heard from the environment that neither manager Frank nor owner Steve Ballmer have arranged the deal and coach Tyronn Lue sees the matter calmly. It is said that George stood up for Westbrook – which fundamentally leads to a debate about the power of players in the NBA. One thing is clear about the Clippers: Leonard and George decide very, very much.
Odds: 10:1
Fourth place: Denver Nuggets
Didn’t do much at first glance – why should they? Denver is number one in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have two bandleaders in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray who harmonize brilliantly and who are pretty much the opposite of stinky boots. They have now brought in reliable substitutes (Thomas Bryant and Reggie Jackson) for them. Much more was not possible, but more was not needed.
Odds: 7:1
Second place (tied): Milwaukee Bucks
Similar situation as in Denver – only there was a candy because of a blockbuster transfer (see Phoenix). The Bucks have the best record in the NBA, tied with Boston. They brought in Jae Crowder, who had previously been sent to Brooklyn from Phoenix. Who should score or pick rebounds against Crowder, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis? The bonus is the transfer that ultimately led to them getting Crowder.
Odds: 4:1
Second place (tied): Phoenix Suns
The blockbuster trade, of course: Kevin Durant. The guy who moves to where he thinks he has the best chance of winning a title – and therefore triggers debates. It worked in Golden State, but not at all in Brooklyn – and yet the Nets would have been a danger in the playoffs with Durant/Irving. The answer to the question above about who should score against Milwaukee: those old Nets. But now Durant is with the Suns and thus in the Western Conference. The Suns have two guys in Durant and Devin Booker who can score from middle range when they’re under pressure, which is going to be important in the playoffs. And they have Chris Paul, who despite his 37 years is still one of the best passers in the league. What they don’t have: reliable substitutes.
Odds: 4:1
First place: Boston Celtics
Have the best record in the league with Milwaukee – and got rid of the Nets in the Eastern Conference. They got a reliable center in Mike Muscala, who is not an individual player like their best man Jayson Tatum, but who other clubs (Denver for example) would have liked to have had as a useful man under the basket. It was more like this: There had been a lot of rumors, especially again about winger Jaylen Brown. Manager Brad Stevens diffused them in a conversation with Brown, who said, “I really appreciate that.”
Odds: 3:1.