NBA Playoffs Betting Present and Futures
Four teams are still vying for spots in the conference finals, while the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have both secured their advance with 4-0 sweeps. As of now, betting sportsbooks still have the Warriors as heavy favorites to win the O’Brien.
Warriors, Cavs are still the heavy favs to appear in the NBA Finals. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue even likened the matchup to the famed Celtics-Lakers rivalry.
Stephen Curry and company are sitting pretty in the books right now. At BetOnline, the Warriors have a -280 advantage, with the Cavs (+265), San Antonio Spurs (+1400), Houston Rockets (+2800), Boston Celtics (+4000) and the Washington Wizards (+6000) in plus-money.
As of this writing, the Celtics and Wizards sit at 2-2 with game 5 coming up Wednesday night. Thus far, home teams have dominated this series. With the Celtics losing the last two on the road by an average of 23 points, they’re looking to turn things around at the Garden. Fortunately for Boston fans, the Celts opened as four-point favorites for game 5, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Don’t be surprised if Isaiah Thomas attacks the basket a lot Wednesday night. He didn’t make it to the line once in game 4, but the last time Thomas played at the Garden was May 2 — he dropped 53 points that night. So bet on the Celtics to win and cover the spread tonight.
- My prediction: Celtics win 115-109, Wizards take the series in 7.
Meanwhile the Spurs lead the Rockets, 3-2. They head to Houston Thursday night for a pivotal game 6, in which they’re listed as +7 underdogs. After shutting down James Harden and company in game 5, San Antonio has the opportunity to eliminate their cross-state rivals. Still they’re -300 favorites at Bovada to win the series. Just don’t be surprised if it happens in seven games.
- My prediction: Rockets win 114-105, Spurs win series in 7.
And yet, all this talk about the Celts, Wiz, Spurs, and Rockets might be for naught — because a Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals rematch might be imminent. The odds of the two teams meeting in the championship are -380, with all other matchups listed at +315. t’s going to take a serious surge from one of the four remaining conference semi-finals teams to supplant Golden State or Cleveland, but what do we know? Anything can happen in this league.
What do you think: do the Warriors deserve such a heavy advantage? Can the Cavs bring another championship to Cleveland? Will the remaining semi-finals teams go seven? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
