The NBA season will officially start on July 31st, with 22 teams descending on Disney World in Florida. There will be eight regular season games and then the playoffs will start with the normal 16 teams.
Fans are obviously thrilled about this news, but so are bettors. There will be daily game odds per usual and even the NBA Title Odds have already been updated at the Winning Poker Network Sportsbooks.
Below are the top-11 favorites to cut down the nets next to Mickey Mouse and company.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (+235)
2. Milwaukee Bucks (+267)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (+300)
4. Boston Celtics (+1304)
5. Houston Rockets (+1500)
6. Toronto Raptors (+1950)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (+2717)
8. Denver Nuggets (+3021)
9. Miami Heat (+3529)
10. Dallas Mavericks (+4000)
11. Utah Jazz (+4000)
The first thing that jumps out is the three teams at the top with Milwaukee and the two Los Angeles squads. Those are the heavy favorites in their own tier, with the Clippers arguably the most talented overall, even with the biggest payout at +300.
Up next is the Boston Celtics (+1304). They have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference right now, 9.5 games behind Milwaukee and 3 games behind Toronto. Boston has some high-end young talent like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who should be able to bounce back quickly from the layoff, as opposed to more veteran players.
The defending-champion Raptors seem undervalued at these +1950 odds. Of course, Kawhi Leonard isn’t around for this playoff run, but this is still a gritty bunch with one superstar left in Pascal Siakam.
Philadelphia (+2717) might actually be the most talented team in the East and are interesting at these +2717 odds as well.
