The Utah Jazz hasn’t been a true championship contender since the days of John Stockton and Karl Malone, but the hype is growing in Salt Lake City. The first step on a path to title contention would be winning the Northwest Division, and Utah has been instituted as the favorite to do so in the 2019-20 season. While the Jazz has a solid roster, there are multiple other teams that will be in the mix. The Denver Nuggets are the defending divisional champions while the Portland Trail Blazers are coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance, so this should be an intriguing conference to watch all year long.
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NBA Odds To Win Northwest Division
Utah Jazz +130
Denver Nuggets +141
Portland Trail Blazers +318
Minnesota Timberwolves +4309
Oklahoma City Thunder +9000
Northwest Division Odds Analysis
The Jazz have such high hopes because they acquired star point guard Mike Conley from the Grizzlies this offseason. He will pair with Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt to give Utah a pair of All-Star-level players. Conley is impressive on both ends of the court, and Utah figures to be ferocious defensively this season. Rudy Gobert is back to patrol the paint, while Joe Ingles should be a thorn in the side of opponents once again. The Jazz were a solid team last year and have reason to believe they can take another step forward.
The Nuggets won’t be backing down in the divisional race after winning the Northwest and finishing second overall in the Western Conference a year ago with 54 wins. Nikola Jokic flourished last season and returns to lead this team, while Jamal Murray seems in line for another big year. Paul Millsap should give the team a boost down low, while Michael Porter will aim to live up to his vast potential after a lost rookie season due to injury.
The Trail Blazers have a great 1-2 scoring punch in their backcourt with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Those two should keep the team competitive on most nights, and the starting lineup will also boast Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside. Portland came alive in the playoffs to make it just one round away from the NBA Finals and has visions of a title in 2019-20. Capturing the Northwest Division would be a good first step.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are longshots to win the division, as they are not nearly as well-rounded as others. While Karl-Anthony Towns is a very talented player, the T-Wolves have failed to supply him with a good enough supporting cast. Andrew Wiggins is still young but time is running out for him to develop into a star.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is expected to bring up the rear in the division. This team was perennially in contention in past seasons but Russell Westbrook and Paul George were both dealt in the offseason, which signaled a major rebuild.
The Northwest Division could have a lot of parity this season, with the Nuggets, Jazz and Blazers all having a legitimate case to win it. The oddsmakers got this one correct, as favored Utah will play great defense and outlast the others for the divisional crown.
NBA Pick: Utah Jazz to win the Northwest Division at +130 odds
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