Back To The West

With less than 10 games left in every team's season, the fight for the Western Conference's final play-in spots is as close as it's ever been. As of about 9PM last night, the 12th place Jazz had 39 losses, while the 6th place Warriors had lost 37 games. The current order seems to flip upside down every other day, with a new team under scrutiny left and right. Right now, it's the 11th place Mavericks 👀

Tonight, two more meaningful games go down, with the Pelicans taking on the Warriors in SF on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Thunder hosting the Hornets in OKC 🏀

• Despite being one of just four teams with single-digit road wins this season (9-29), the Warriors are tied for the NBA's third-best record at home (30-8)

• Since the Pelicans are coming off a game last night in Portland and have to face the Warriors' fresh legs in San Francisco, Golden State shouldn't have too much trouble hanging onto the sixth seed

The Nuggets, Grizzlies and Kings have the top-3 seeds locked up, but basically any team can catch the current 4th place Suns for home-court advantage. Phoenix sits just three games ahead of the 11th seed out West - these next two weeks should be fun 🎁

Dark Horse Darlings

Despite losing the number two overall pick in Chet Holmgren to an offseason injury, the Thunder have figured out a way to build a winning team. Having gone 9-4 since March 3, OKC has leaned on a number of awards-worthy performances to close the gap in the West. There's a chance they see their first playoff action since 2019-20 📈

• If not for Lauri Markkannen's out-of-nowhere jump to All-NBA caliber play, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be running away with the Most Improved Player award. Here's where he stands amongst the contenders 👇

Most Improved Player Odds

• Lauri Markkannen: -360

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: +300

• Jalen Brunson: +3000

Even OKC's other rookie, Jalen Williams, is making a late Rookie of the Year push. He won't catch Paolo Banchero, but the Thunder have to be happy with how he's developed over the course of the season 💪

Rookie of the Year Odds

• Paolo Banchero: -3000

• Jalen Williams: +2700

• Walker Kessler: +6500

And it's worth saying, if it wasn't for Mike Brown leading the Kings to their first playoff appearance in 16 years, OKC's 38-year-old coach Mark Daigneault would have a strong case to win Coach of the Year. Sam Presti's Thunder definitely have a bright future 💡

For My Parlay Gurus

At this point, we're all just watching NBA games because of the March Madness lull, but I need my hoops fix. With six games on tonight, I've got the Thunder and Warriors each taking care of business on their home court. Take a look 👇

• Thunder -9 vs. Hornets: -110

• Warriors -9 vs. Pelicans: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

Want more sports content from Overtime? Check us out on TikTok 🗣Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Join thousands of other informed subscribers

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Many will enter, only some will win. Giveaway ends 12 hours after the completion of the final game references within the giveaway. The winner will be notified via the email address used to enter. Restrictions apply. See the General Conditions and Releases sections of Overtime's Terms of Use at https://overtime.tv/terms for additional giveaway terms©2023 Overtime Sports, Inc. All rights reserved.