Betting Lines and Odds for every NBA team
Last year, everybody expected the NBA Finals to be Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers versus LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kobe lived up to his end of the deal but the Orlando Magic upset the Cavs and represented the Eastern Conference.
It’s another season and again, everybody is talking Lakers and Cavaliers. Las Vegas sports books have the Lakers at +225 odds to win it all, with the Cavaliers not far behind at +330. Three other teams have a fighting chance: the Boston Celtics (+475), the Orlando Magic (+800) and the San Antonio Spurs (+950).
No other team is valued at less than 10 to 1, showing that the NBA is top heavy, and that nobody is totally sure who will represent the Eastern Conference. It appears that Las Vegas is willing to bet that the Lakers will be triumphant in the Western Conference, despite losing big man Trevor Ariza. There are still some good values beyond these five teams, though.
At 19 to 1, the Denver Nuggets are an intriguing option. They are coming off a 54 win season, tied for their best season since 1987, and their third best season in franchise history. Denver returns the main cogs to their success from last season, including Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, JR Smith, Kenyon Martin and Nene Hilario. They also signed wing Arron Afflalo from Detroit to replace Dahntay Jones, and drafted UNC point guard Tywon Lawson. Still, the concern with Denver is that everything went their way last season – including a tiebreaker to earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Dallas Mavericks are another good value at 28 to 1. The Mavericks have a great starting line up, especially with the addition of Shawn Marion. He will add another reliable scoring option to a team that typically has no problem scoring tons of points. The problem is that behind the starting five is a little thin. The Mavs have Drew Gooden to provide depth for the frontcourt and Jason Terry to back up in the backcourt, but other than those two, there is not a lot of experience on the bench.
Two other values to win it all are the Atlanta Hawks at 66 to 1 and the Washington Wizards at 100 to 1 odds. The Hawks kept the keys to their franchise from the off season, retaining Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams, and added veterans Jamal Crawford and Joe Smith to bolster their bench. With a solid seven players who can contribute on any given night in their rotation, Atlanta should compete for a 3 or 4 seed in the East.
The Wizards made some key moves, not necessarily with their roster, but by adding a proven winner in head coach Flip Saunders. Washington brings back a healthy Gilbert Arenas, who, paired with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, should be one of the league’s top trios. The Wizards are also 60 to 1 to win the Eastern Conference.
The NBA’s MVP race appears to be a three man race at this point. LeBron James leads the way at +225, Kobe Bryant is next at +350, and Dwayne Wade is at +500. Though one of these three is most likely going to win it, there is little value in tying up a lot of money for a long bet that does not pay off well. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are listed at 33 to 1 and 40 to 1, respectively, for the Celtics, who could make the NBA Finals if things go their way. If Kobe gets hurt, the Lakers could still compete for an NBA Finals appearance, in which case Pau Gasol would become their top scoring option. At 45 to 1, he may be worth a small flier bet.
The Rookie of the Year Award may as well be handed over to No. 1 pick Blake Griffin right now. The Los Angeles Clippers chose Griffin from Oklahoma with the top pick and he is expected to make an immediate impact. Though he missed his first preseason game, he has bounced back with an 8 point, 5 rebound performance in a win over Portland, a 15 point, 9 rebound performance in a win over Golden State, and a 23 point, 7 rebound performance in a win over San Antonio. Griffin looks ready to take this award from the get go.
In his way are a few dark horses to win the award. One is DeJuan Blair at 33 to 1. The Spurs drafted Blair in the second round, and he has relished in the preseason, putting up 11 points and 12 rebounds against the Clippers, 28 points against the Heat and 16 points and 19 rebounds against the Rockets. Though he may not be a starter during the regular season, he will have a chance to make an impact for a contender right away, which could help his case.
One other value in the Rookie of the Year race is Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings at 40 to 1. In five games, Jennings has put up games of 14 points and 5 assists, 18 points and 6 assists, 6 points and 5 assists, and a game of 10 points and 12 assists. He’ll need some more playing time than the Bucks can give him right off the bat, as he will play behind Carlos Delfino, but Jennings has the talent to take advantage of the opportunity and average 10 and 8 as a rookie, which could put him in the discussion for the award. The Bucks are bad, and got worse in the off season after losing Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions. But with Michael Redd on the wing as the team’s biggest scoring option, Jennings should dish out plenty of assists.
