NBA Western Conference odds, best bet: Which L.A. team will emerge?

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With the NBA season set to tip off July 30, we're running through the best betting values to emerge from each conference.

In the West, it's a two-team race between the Lakers and Clippers, who entered the season as clear co-favorites and have delivered on that promise throughout the year. But could another team spoil the long-awaited L.A. showdown in the conference finals?

Here are the odds to win the West and our favorite value plays:

Odds courtesy of theScore Bet

Lakers or Clippers?

A cursory look at the standings and advanced stats would suggest the Lakers (+140) as the team to bet out of the West. Frankly, that's not a bad call.

LeBron James and Co. rank second in the NBA in net rating (+7.1) and have the best record against teams above .500 (18-9). They're also the best club in the West off one day's rest or less (37-10), which could be a factor in a truncated bubble schedule. In any other year, they'd be a clear-cut favorite out of the West.

There's only one team in the West that has a winning record against the Lakers this year - the Clippers (+200), who are 2-1 against their rivals and more than doubled the Lakers' net rating (+14 to +7) over the last eight games before the hiatus. Translation? The "other" L.A. team has proven to be a tough matchup for the Lakers, and the Clippers were playing their best basketball of the year pre-shutdown.

Even with momentum lost, the four-month layoff could be a major positive for the Clips, who have been managing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's health all year long. If injuries do strike in the restart - which is possible after an extended hiatus - the Clippers have the deepest bench in the field. All things equal, they are the better bet out West, so a longer price is icing on the cake.

Who else is worth betting?

The short answer: nobody. The long answer: No team has proven enough to justify fading the L.A. train.

The Rockets (+700) have been an enigma all year. They're experienced and talented enough to challenge the top teams, but as we detailed in March, they're a poor matchup against either of the two L.A. clubs, who would expose Houston's unique small-ball lineup. The Nuggets (+1000) and Jazz (+1500) were both struggling pre-shutdown and haven't shown the consistency or upside to threaten the top tier.

The Mavericks (+1800) are an intriguing long shot. They posted the West's third-best net rating (+5.8) behind the two L.A. teams this season, and they boast the best offense in the league (1.16 points per possession). If healthy, the duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis could pose problems for even the West's best teams, though Dallas likely doesn't have enough depth or defense to hang in a seven-game series.

If you're looking for a real long shot, bet the Blazers (+9000), who are the only club outside of Houston with deep playoff experience as a collective group. We haven't seen how this team looks when fully healthy, which is reason enough to take a speculative shot at remarkably long odds, even though it could be a ripped ticket before the playoffs even begin.

Best bet

Los Angeles Clippers (+200)

A reigning Finals MVP, a veteran coach, a deep roster, and a league-best stretch before the shutdown - there are plenty of reasons to bank on the Clippers emerging from the West. If that's not enough, getting +200 odds compared to the Lakers' +140 price is enough to tip the scales, though either bet is better than wading through the rest of a messy Western Conference field.

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.