2018 NBA Playoffs Betting Preview: Western Conference Matchups

We didn’t know who the eighth playoff team in the NBA’s Western Conference would be until late on Wednesday night, as the Minnesota Timberwolves needed overtime to knock off the Denver Nuggets in a winner-take-all battle for the final seed in the postseason. With that win, Minnesota has the unenviable task of facing the top-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Now that the four first-round postseason series are set, take a look at our NBA Playoffs betting previews for each matchup.

2018 NBA Playoffs Betting Preview: Western Conference Matchups

The 2018 #NBAPlayoffs First Round Schedule by series! pic.twitter.com/F37SRKQOLz

— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2018

Houston Rockets (1) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (8)

The Toyota Center in Houston will feature the first game in this series on Sunday night, on TNT. The Rockets swept all four of the season series games with the Timberwolves, but Jimmy Butler only played the whole game in one of those matchups, an 18-point loss back in February. The teams met again on February 23, a game in which Butler tore his meniscus, which would keep him out for more than two months (including the final two matchups between the two teams). Houston looks solid heading into the postseason, but they will not have defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute for at least the first round, which could give the Timberwolves some more opportunities to score. Their confidence will be high after that overtime win over Denver — but can they stop the Beard AND Chris Paul? Houston in five.

Golden State Warriors (2) vs San Antonio Spurs (7)

The defending champions and the most dominant team of the last two decades square off in this first-round series, but both have some major problems. The Warriors, of course, are without Stephen Curry, and the Spurs are still missing Kawhi Leonard, who has only appeared in nine games this season. While no one would look down on Steve Kerr’s abilities as a coach, he’s taking on one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA in Gregg Popovich. San Antonio had the fourth-best defensive rating for the season despite the age of their roster, and Golden State comes in having dropped 10 of their last 17, including a loss in Indiana that led to a rare public tongue-lashing from Kerr to his crew. San Antonio in six.

Portland Trail Blazers (3) vs New Orleans Pelicans (6)

Portland welcomes the visiting New Orleans Pelicans for their series opener on Saturday night on ESPN. The teams split their four meetings on the season, and both teams have battled losing streaks as the regular season has wound down. The Trail Blazers rode a long winning streak to climb up the West standings but then dropped seven of 12 down the stretch, needing a win over Utah in the regular season finale to hold the 3-seed. Their scoring tandem of C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard keeps them in games, and they have the ninth-best defensive rating in the league. They’ll face a New Orleans team that has a point guard in Rajon Rondo who (for the time being) seems interested in the job before him, but can Anthony Davis (who is leading the league in scoring at 30.2 points per contest since DeMarcus Cousins blew out his Achilles on January 26) carry New Orleans to the second round? Portland in six.

Oklahoma City Thunder (4) vs Utah Jazz (5)

Yes, Russell Westbrook has averaged a triple-double for the second consecutive season, but even that achievement has sowed some discord in the Thunder locker room, as Carmelo Anthony has said that Westbrook “steals” rebounds from his teammates. Anthony is looking to make it past the first round of the playoffs for just the third time in his career, and Oklahoma City could go a long way in the West thanks to the decline of the Warriors. The Thunder were tenth in offensive rating this year, and they won three of their four matchups with the Jazz. The series will come down to the play of Utah point guard Donovan Mitchell, who has as a rookie the task of leading his team past a formidable Oklahoma City squad. Oklahoma City in five.