NBA Futures Betting – Odds to Win the Eastern Conf.

With the All-Star game in the books, the final two months of the NBA regular season are now upon us.  In both conferences, teams are jockeying for both playoff spots and seeding, which carries with it the often-decisive home-court advantage.

At this stage of the season, the Eastern Conference standings has been clearly stratified into three distinct groups:

(a) the playoff bound: Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland, Washington, and Milwaukee (jeepers, really, Milwaukee??);

(b) the question marks: Miami, Charlotte, Brooklyn, Boston, Detroit, and Indiana; and

(c) the also-rans: Orlando, New York, and Philadelphia.

The top six teams all look like locks for the playoffs. The six question marks, meanwhile, are fighting for the last two spots in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Miami and Charlotte currently hold down those coveted positions, but Brooklyn, Boston, Detroit, and Indiana are all within two games.

Although the Hawks are running away with the regular season title – sitting 6.5-games up on second-place Toronto – they are only 5/2 to win the East and advance to the NBA Finals. (Scroll to the bottom for a concise odds list.)

Can you guess which star-studded team still trumps the high-flying Hawks?

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the odds-on favorite at 6/5.

The Cavs currently sit in fifth in the East.  However, LeBron and company have won 14 of their last 16 games, and they’re back to being the kings of the court, in bettors’ minds.

Behind the Cavs and Hawks sit the Chicago Bulls at 18/5. To date, Chicago hasn’t played up to its potential, but they haven’t needed to, either.  The Bulls are built for the playoffs and just need to win enough games to get there – and get there healthy – in order to make a deep run.

Toronto and Washington are next at 12/1 and 16/1, respectively.  The Raptors were without star guard DeMar DeRozan for a large chunk of the season, yet have still managed more wins than every team save Atlanta.

Washington, meanwhile, has showed that it needs a healthy Bradley Beal to be a true contender.  With that said, a healthy Wizards team would be a solid sleeper pick.

Beyond those five teams, no one else in the East really has a legitimate chance.  The Heat are next in the books at 50/1, but Miami has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent play all season and are 22-30 on the year. Even when both Dwyane Wade and Chris Both are both in the lineup, the team is only 13-15.

Betting tip: The best bet at this point is Chicago.  The Bulls have the most talented team from top to bottom.  Moreover, they have size and can defend at every position.  Teams will find it exceedingly difficult to score on the Bulls come playoff time – as long as Chicago is healthy.  Cleveland has been better of late, but they are probably still a year away.  Of course, only time will tell.

Odds to win the Eastern Conference Playoffs:

• Cleveland Cavaliers: 6/5
• Atlanta Hawks: 5/2
• Chicago Bulls: 18/5
• Toronto Raptors: 12/1
• Washington Wizards: 16/1
• Miami Heat: 50/1

(Photo credit: Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (AAAA0584) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)