With the play-in games now finished and the 16 playoff teams now confirmed, we wanted to take a look at each teams odds to win the NBA championship. Included here are the teams odds to advance to the finals as well.
One thing to keep in mind is that injuries and path to the finals plays a huge role into determining these odds. For example, if Luka were fully healthy then the Mavericks would have much more favorable odds, not behind teams like the Jazz and Nuggets.
Another example would be the Suns, who are already the best team in the NBA, also get a break being the 1 seed and avoiding the Warriors in the 2nd round. The Grizzlies, despite being the 2 seed, have such low odds to advance because they would most likely need to through both the Warriors and then the Suns, making their path much more difficult.
Golden State Warriors Series Projected Game Total: 7
Warriors to Make the Finals: +430
4) Boston Celtics (2 seed, East) +900
Regular Season Record: 51-31
Series Opponent: Brooklyn Nets
Boston Celtics Series Odds: -145
Boston Celtics Series Game Spread: -1.5
Boston Celtics Series Projected Game Total: 7 games
Boston to Make the Finals: +420
3) Brooklyn Nets (7 seed, East) +750
Regular Season Record: 44-38
Series Opponent: Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets Series Odds: +125
Brooklyn Nets Series Game Spread: +1.5
Brooklyn Nets Series Projected Game Total: 7
Brooklyn to Make the Finals: +400
2) Milwaukee Bucks (3 seed, East) +475
Regular Season Record: 51-31
Series Opponent: Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks Series Odds: -1100
Milwaukee Bucks Series Game Spread: -2.5
Milwaukee Bucks Projected Game Total: 5
Milwaukee to Make the Finals: +220
1) Phoenix Suns (1 seed, West) +270
Regular Season Record: 64-18
Series Opponent: New Orleans Pelicans
Phoenix Suns Series Odds: -4000
Phoenix Suns Series Game Spread: -2.5
Phoenix Suns Projected Game Total: 5
Phoenix to Make the Finals: +110
Overall, not surprising to see the Suns and Bucks to make it out of their respective conferences. These two teams famously played in the NBA finals last year, with the Bucks wearing the crowns.
I did find it interesting that the Celtics are favored to beat the Nets, but the Nets have more favorable odds to make the finals and to win the championship.
The Celtics are -145 favorites to beat the Nets in their series, but their futures odds are +420 to make the finals, and +900 to win the finals, while the Nets are +400 to make the finals and +750 to win.
This means that there is either value on the Nets to win the series on the Celtics, or on the Celtics futures. I am more leaning towards the value being on the Nets to beat the Celtics. You can check out our series preview here for full analysis.
While I do think the Suns make the finals, there isn’t any value getting their odds at +110 odds. Instead, I love getting the Warriors odds both to make the finals and to win the whole thing. Steph Curry is confirmed playing in game 1 of their series against the Nuggets, and if he can stay healthy then I would say the Warriors have a legit chance.
As far as East predictions go, I have to go chalk here and take the Bucks to make the finals. I just think that they have the answers to the most questions compared to the rest of the Easts elite teams, and +220 is good value