Warriors Odds to Win Pacific Division Improve To +350 In Wake of Cousins Injury
- The odds of the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Pacific Division title improved from +480 to +350
- The lowered odds arrived after news broke that the Los Angeles Lakers had lost C DeMarcus (Boogie) Cousins for the season due to a torn ACL.
- The Warriors have won the past five Pacific Division titles
Last season, the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Pacific Division title in spite of an injury to center DeMarcus (Boogie) Cousins. This season, the odds of the Warriors wearing the Pacific crown have taken an uptick thanks to another injury suffered by Cousins.
A torn Achilles tendon kept Cousins out until well into the 2018-19 campaign. Golden State still posted an NBA Western Conference-best 57-25 record even though he suited up for just 30 games.
Cousins left the Warriors to sign as a free agent with the Lakers this summer. He tore his ACL during an offseason workout last week.
A cross-section of top sportsbooks reveals how his injury has impacted the NBA Pacific race. Golden State’s NBA Divisional odds improved from +480 to +350.
2019-20 NBA Pacific Division Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Clippers | -160 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | +300 |
| Golden State Warriors | +350 |
| Sacramento Kings | +5000 |
| Phoenix Suns | +25000 |
*Odds taken on 08/19/19.
Meanwhile, the Lakers saw their average odds to win the division drop from +230 to +300.
Missing Cousins
Even without Cousins for much of last season, Golden State still could put Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on the floor. That’s quite the quartet.
The Lakers don’t enjoy such luxury.
Video of DeMarcus Cousins’ ACL injury
(? @TMZ_Sports ) pic.twitter.com/MquFvtLrib
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 15, 2019
Cousins is a four-time all-star. He averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017-18, where he worked in tandem with another new Laker, Anthony Davis.
The Warriors would not have won Game 2 of the NBA Finals without @BoogieCousins. This upcoming season felt like it held so much potential.
This sucks.— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 15, 2019
The LeBron James-Davis-Cousins trio figured to be trouble for any NBA team. Instead, now the Lakers must decide whether to slide Davis over to center from his natural power forward position, go with JaVale McGee, or sign someone else – maybe Dwight Howard or Joakim Noah.
It’s a serious downgrade to Showtime.
Warriors Have Their Own Issues
Cousins or no Cousins, the Warriors must deal with their own internal dilemmas. Thompson also underwent knee surgery after tearing his ACL during the Finals and he’s expected to be out much of the 2019-20 season.
They’ll desperately miss his pure, spot-up shooting game, not to mention Thompson’s 41.9 career 3-point percentage. He’s also among the NBA’s best defensive players and having him as a primary wing defender allowed Draymond Green to float in his preferred “free safety” position on defense.
Klay Thompson 2018-19 Defensive Highlights (1/2) pic.twitter.com/cBOfJNuTN0
— Always Hoops (@Always_Hoops) August 16, 2019
Durant is gone to the Brooklyn Nets via free agency but even if he’d stayed, he was going to miss most if not all of the upcoming campaign after tearing his Achilles tendon during the Finals. Golden State’s pick and roll game was devastating with Durant in the lineup.
That’s a 60 percent turnover rate in the starting five from last season for the Warriors.
Curry Must Carry Warriors
A Warriors team minus Durant, Thompson and Cousins was exposed by Toronto in the NBA Finals. Golden State’s only hope for much of that series was Curry carrying the scoring load.
Individually, that could bode well for Curry’s status in the NBA MVP odds. It’s not nearly as comforting a thought from a team standpoint.
Bob Myers is not worried as long as the Warriors have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. ??#DubNation #Warriors pic.twitter.com/fbYcDcWobZ
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) August 19, 2019
Golden State simply has undergone too many changes and far too much roster upheaval to anticipate that the Warriors will transition seamlessly into next season. It’s folly not to expect some downturn for them in the win column.
"??? ????? "
by @MethodChan pic.twitter.com/pH1wdP7LgU— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) August 12, 2019
The Los Angeles Clippers, meanwhile, were already a strong defensive team that took two games off the Warriors in last year’s playoffs. They’ve added two superstars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and both should mesh well with the style and identity that Doc Rivers has implemented with the Clippers.
They’re the team to beat in the Pacific, and the one it makes the most sense to bet.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
