Arguably the deepest division from top to bottom in the NBA the past few years, the Southwest division is loaded with talented teams that have playoff and championship aspirations each year. San Antonio has been the class of the Southwest since Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan came to town in the late 90’s, but recently Dallas, Memphis and Houston have found varying levels of playoff success and New Orleans are minor steps away from getting over that hump. With so much talent within the division, you’ll find a lot of tight games between Southwest rivals and that means that online NBA Southwest betting can bring some strong wagering situations throughout the course of the year.

NBA Southwest Betting Lines

NBA Southwest betting lines tend to have smaller spreads than any other division rivalry games in this league because the talent in the Southwest is spread out well. Check the chart below to see current point spreads for upcoming games featuring these squads.

Results / FixturesNBA

NBA Southwest Standings

San Antonio has been the class of this division, but on a yearly basis it’s a dogfight to see where these teams finish in the NBA Southwest standings. You can see who’s on top this year in the box below.

StandingsNBA

How To Bet On NBA Southwest Division

When handicapping games between these division rivals, bettors have to be aware that on any given night one of these teams could beat the other one. That's why you'll often see home court advantage play such a pivotal role for oddsmakers when they put out NBA Southwest betting lines. One night you could see a team like Dallas be -4 at home vs. New Orleans and when they meet in New Orleans later on it will be the Pelicans who are laying the four points.

Therefore, it's important to not get swayed by anomaly results at times as one of the biggest mistakes NBA bettors can make is assuming they know more than the sportsbooks. NBA lines get sharper and sharper as the season goes on and it's no more evident then in games between Southwest rivals.

Looking ahead, the Spurs will seem to always be in the conversation for a division crown, but they are an older team these days with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker getting closer to retirement each year. Eventually that window for a team to completely pass the Spurs in this division and that's why bettors can't use older stats to back their perceptions and handicapping of a team.

While the other franchises are all solid teams with issues to overcome, it will be interesting to see just how strong the New Orleans Pelicans can be for bettors in the near future. All Star C Anthony Davis is starting to enter the prime of his career, and if the Pelicans can build a solid supporting cast around him, be weary of this team. They will shed that “last place” label in a heartbeat and become the best team to bet on in this division.