The race for the NBA's Western Conference title is wide open.
While the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers remain the favorites, they've got injury problems and they're dropping in the standings. Meanwhile, a fascinating group of challengers hope to dethrone LeBron James and take hold of that West crown.
Looking at the betting odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook, four distinct tiers of Finals contenders emerge out West. Let's take a look at the teams most likely to surpass the Lakers in the postseason.
MORE: 25-under 25 rankings by future potential
Tier 1: The favorites
Los Angeles Lakers | +180 to make the Finals
Despite currently being in fifth place, the Lakers remain the clear favorites to win the West for one simple reason: They have LeBron James. James has won his conference title in an astounding nine of the past 10 seasons. It's one of the most remarkable records in sports right now.
But without James, these Lakers don't scare anyone. One stat in particular proves that:
Since James went down, the Lakers have the worst offense in the league.
Since March 21, the Lakers are barely posting 100 points per 100 possessions. Yikes, folks. The league's second-best defense over that span is keeping L.A. afloat, leading to four wins in nine games.
That defense is critical to keeping the Lakers out of the play-in tournament. They currently hold fragile leads over the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, but both of those squads are playing better with much easier remaining schedules.
The NBA loves to showcase James in glitzy prime-time matchups down the stretch every season, which means tons of hard games against good teams. The Lakers need James and Anthony Davis back for those games.
As their place in the standings continues to drop, the path to the Finals gets tougher and tougher. So let's look at who could unseat L.A. as winners in the West.
Tier 2: The legit threats
LA Clippers | +300
According to oddsmakers, the Clippers remain the biggest threat to the purple and gold. Despite their woeful playoff performance last year, blowing a 3-1 series lead versus the Denver Nuggets, the Clips are still scary because they have Kawhi Leonard, one of the best postseason players in the game.
But this is no one-man show. Check this out: The Clippers now possess the most playoff experience of any team in the league. Their roster has combined to play 748 playoff games. The Lakers are second with 692.
Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins only bolster this roster with more postseason depth and lineup options for Tyronn Lue to play with. Rondo gives the Clips an immediate personality transplant in big moments. The guy has proved it for years.
Here's the bad news: Paul George doesn't look right. After missing seven games in February with a toe injury, George's numbers haven't quite snapped back into form. Before he went down, George was averaging 24.4 points per game while logging 50-40-90 shooting splits. He was simply awesome. But since his return, he's been less productive and less efficient.
George mentioned his toe injury is still bothering him and factoring into his performance, and it shows up in his finishing numbers. His shooting in the restricted area is down to 53% from 70% before the injury, per Second Spectrum tracking.
We all know what Leonard can do in big games, but the fate of this team might rest on George and his abilities to get right before the playoffs.
Utah Jazz | +325
If there were such a thing as an entire 3-and-D team, it's the Jazz. This might be the best bet on the board. Why? The Jazz have the NBA's best record and some of the top statistical markers in the NBA.
Quin Snyder is getting Coach of the Year buzz because he has ignited Utah's offense with one simple trick: turning the Jazz into arguably the most dangerous 3-point shooting outfit in NBA history. In case you think that's an exaggeration, consider these two facts:
The Jazz are averaging more than 50 points per game on 3s alone. No team has ever done that before. The Jazz rank first in 3s made per game and rank second in the league in 3-point percentage, hitting just a hair under 40% of their ridiculous 43 tries per game.
No team has ever combined 3-point volume and efficiency quite like this Jazz team. If they can keep this up in playoff games, then Utah could do more than just win the West.
Tier 3: The outside threats
Denver Nuggets | +700
The early returns on the Aaron Gordon trade are in, and man, they are awesome. Gordon has slid into the Nuggets' starting group and Denver has exploded ever since. Not only are the Nugs an impressive 6-0 since the deadline deal -- with wins over the Clippers and the Sixers -- but the numbers behind that record are startling.
The new starting five of Gordon, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. has a cartoonishly great net rating of plus-33.9 in their first few games together. That's not sustainable, but it's still an awesome beginning.
Phoenix Suns | +900
The Suns are hot, but they aren't getting real respect from Vegas despite posting the league's best record and the best net rating over the past two months.
Maybe we should have predicted this. After all, Chris Paul is one of the best quarterbacks in NBA history, Devin Booker is one of the best scorers in the game, and Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton are wonderful surrounding pieces. This group has coalesced into a ferocious two-way machine, but is a deep playoff run truly realistic?
Paul's dicey playoff history and Booker's postseason inexperience are fuel for the skeptics. But here is one more stat for the optimists: After last night's big win over Utah, the Suns are 18-6 against teams .500 or better, which is No. 1 in the NBA. They have played great against good teams all year long. Why would that stop in the playoffs?
Tier 4: The long shots
Dallas Mavericks | +2000
After an uneven start, the Mavericks have turned their season around and are a big threat to L.A. for two reasons. First, Dallas could continue its hot streak, surpass the Lakers in the standings and force them into the play-in bracket. Although the Mavericks are three games back of the Lakers, Dallas has one of the five easiest remaining schedules, while L.A. has one of the five hardest, according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI).
The second reason is Luka Doncic, perhaps the best young player this league has seen since James himself. Doncic is only 22, yet he is among the NBA leaders in both scoring and assists. The phenom is also red-hot from downtown, sinking more than 40% of his 10 3-point attempts per game over his past 15 contests.
If the last few months are a fair indication, the Mavs are one of the best four teams in the conference, and **Mark Cuban Shark Tank voice** for those reasons, I'm in on them at +2000!
Portland Trail Blazers +2000
There is a simple reason the Blazers don't find themselves higher on this list: defense.
By this point we know what Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum can do. These dudes are leading the best offense in the NBA since March 1. That's great. They also have the worst defense in the league in that same timeframe. That's not great.
The past 20 champions have all ranked 11th or better in defensive efficiency. Portland ranking 29th in this category tells you everything you need to know about its title chances.
Golden State Warriors | +3000
If there's one team careening down the standings faster than the Lakers, it's the Dubs, who are 5-10 in their past 15 games with a woeful net rating of minus-9.1. That screams pingpong balls. Their rotation is arguably the thinnest among all potential playoff teams.
Steve Kerr's beautiful movement sequences used to result in dangerous chances for great players like Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the perimeter. These days they end up with crooked Kelly Oubre Jr. jumpers or awkward rookie touches for James Wiseman.
Curry has been great all year, and when he's in games, the Dubs look competent, outscoring their opponents and posting above-average offensive numbers. But when he sits or misses games, the wheels come off. With Curry on the bench this year, Golden State is getting outscored by 10 points per 100 possessions.
Here's the thing: If Golden State can hang around enough to secure one of those play-in slots, nobody in the West -- including the Lakers -- would want to see Steph and Draymond Green in a one-game make-or-break matchup.