NBA playoffs: Which California teams will have a deep NBA playoff run?

You may want to pump the brakes before you put all your money on the Clippers simply because they are the better of the four teams through the bulk of the season. 

Yes, this L.A. contingent has made the playoffs in four of their last five seasons and is headed back there unless they go into a tailspin in their final regular-season games. They also appear to have overcome whatever team chemistry issues they dealt with at the start of the season and are making the best of their star power. That being said, they have never made it all the way to the NBA Finals and James Harden said after back-to-back losses that the team needs to "find our identity." That's not the kind of thing you want to hear in March about a team you're thinking of betting on.

That leaves you with the three other California teams, who are all sort of jumbled together right at the playoff window. The Kings hold a narrow lead in the standings over the Warriors and the Lakers and are favorably listed to make the playoffs, but DK still lists them as 90-1 long shots to win a championship given their inconsistency this season and their lack of deep playoff experience. They also lost to Golden State in the first round last year and could be going up against a tough Phoenix Suns team in the play-in, so their longevity is questionable.

Speaking of the Warriors, they find themselves in the same boat as the Lakers in the final stretch of the regular season. These rivals could face each other in the play-in, and LeBron James's squad has more favorable odds of advancing out of it to the first round. (L.A. also beat GSW in the playoffs last year.) That being said, the Lakers only have a few more wins on the season than the Warriors as both teams try to balance an aging superstar corps with young rising-star talent. Each team has lost close games this season but has avoided lengthy losing streaks, has traded off defeating the other and, of course, both teams have won championships in the last 10 years.

So while DK lists L.A.'s chances of making the playoffs at -125 and GSW's chances at +290, they are enough alike that it's difficult to call.

Since there are still a couple of weeks left in the regular season, there is still a little bit of time to decide which California team to bet on having the deepest playoff run. While the Clippers currently look like the team to get the furthest in this year's playoffs, there's still a chance one of the teams more familiar with the Finals will make a run for it. Or does Sac have it in them to beat their long odds?

The NBA Play-In Tournament is scheduled to start on April 16, with the first round set to tip off on April 20.