How many wins for H-town this year?
With the start of NBA training camps just two months away, our good friends at DraftKings have released their NBA win total odds, and the Houston Rockets are projected to improve, albeit ever so slightly.
Coming off of a season in which they won 41 games on their way to a .500 record, DraftKings has Houston’s over/under on wins set at 43.5. That total is fair in the sense that the Rockets haven’t made any significant moves and are returning roughly the same squad as they did last year, with the exception being number three overall draft choice Reed Sheppard, who is expected to come off of the bench to start the year.
However, if Houston’s young players such as Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore and Jalen Green do some improving, the Rockets have a much higher ceiling than a two or three-game improvement.
The Boston Celtics have the highest over/under with 58.5, while the Oklahoma City Thunder have the top number in the Western Conference at 56.5. The L.A. Lakers and Golden State Warriors are tied with the Rockets at 43.5, making them all battling for the ninth and 10th spot, with 10th being the NBA Play-In Tournament cut off, so it’s up in the air whether or not Houston is projected to make the playoffs. Though DK gives the Rockets the best odds of the Play-In despite listing the Dubs as the nine seed.
Your Western Conference order is predicted to be:
- Oklahoma City Thunder – 58.5 wins
- Minnesota Timberwolves – 52.5 wins
- Denver Nuggets – 52.5 wins
- Dallas Mavericks – 49.5 wins
- Memphis Grizzlies – 47.5 wins
- Phoenix Suns – 47.5 wins
- Sacramento Kings – 46.5 wins
- New Orleans Pelicans – 46.5 wins
- Golden State Warriors – 43.5 wins
- Houston Rockets – 43.5 wins
- Los Angeles Lakers – 43.5 wins
- Los Angeles Clippers – 40.5 wins
- San Antonio Spurs – 36.5 wins
- Portland Trail Blazers – 22.5 wins
- Utah Jazz – not listed (I love this!)
These projections can and do change in the lead up to the regular season, so we’ll check back in with our friends at DK right around training camp for an update, but for now — 43.5 wins and a tie for the 10th seed in the Western Conference is your official betting prediction. Make sure you let us know in the comments whether or not you agree with the win totals from DraftKings.