NBA Futures: Which Teams get Some Summer Lovin’?
The NBA is darn near a year-around sport these days. The Cleveland Cavaliers were crowned champions less than two months ago and after a flurry of offseason moves, the preseason is fast approaching. Adding to a busy 2016 schedule are the Olympics in Brazil: the league’s best players (well, many of them anyway) are braving the slums of Rio to challenge the world in hoops.
(Oh, the excitement of sweating out the fourth quarter to see if the Americans can cover the 52 point-spread against Nigeria! At least the amateurs made for a far more interesting competition.)
The biggest story of the NBA offseason undeniably was Kevin Durant’s move from the Oklahoma City to Golden State. The Warriors are now a clear favorite to win the 2017 title, but have also become the league’s evil empire. Three Warriors (Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson) are featured on the Team USA roster, and league MVP Stephen Curry isn’t even playing. The sharpshooting guard is recovering from a knee injury and opted for rest over gold.
Overall the Warriors are the team to beat, while the Cavaliers are favored to dominate the East again. It’s quite possible we see these two super powers square off in the finals for the third consecutive year. The unbalanced league has the potential to produce wire-to-wire dominant teams in each conference.
The more interesting aspects of the regular season could come from the second-tier teams. Are you looking for a long shot or at least an ‘over’ bet on a season win total? The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Charlotte Hornets should be solid plays. The T-Wolves hired the defensive minded Tom Thibodeau to coach a team loaded with offensive talent. In Charlotte, the sneaky good Hornets of last year should get a healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the entirety of this season. MKG, Nick Batum and Kemba Walker are a dynamic trio, capable of winning a lot of games.
Then there’s the Thunder, Durant’s spurned lovers. Oklahoma City managed to avoid losing two superstars, re-signing Russell Westbrook to a three-year deal. With the athletic point guard as the only alpha-dog on this team, he’s poised to have a big year statistically. Can he dethrone the ball-hog James Harden as the league’s leading scorer?
Speaking of top scorers, who will lead the stacked Team USA in points? (Whoever they want is the real answer.) We’ll address the odds for all those questions and so much more below.
2016-17 NBA Odds
Odds to win the 2017 NBA Finals:
Golden State Warriors: 1/1
Cleveland Cavaliers: 5/2
San Antonio Spurs: 9/1
Los Angeles Clippers: 25/1
Boston Celtics: 30/1
Minnesota Timberwolves: 30/1
Charlotte Hornets: 40/1
Toronto Raptors: 40/1
New York Knicks: 50/1
Oklahoma City Thunder: 75/1
New Orleans Pelicans: 100/1
Portland Trail Blazers: 100/1
Atlanta Hawks: 125/1
Chicago Bulls: 125/1
Memphis Grizzlies: 150/1
Miami Heat: 150/1
Utah Jazz: 150/1
Houston Rockets: 200/1
Indiana Pacers: 200/1
Washington Wizards: 200/1
Detroit Pistons: 250/1
Milwaukee Bucks: 250/1
Orlando Magic: 250/1
Los Angeles Lakers: 300/1
Philadelphia 76ers: 300/1
Dallas Mavericks: 400/1
Denver Nuggets: 400/1
Sacramento Kings: 400/1
Brooklyn Nets: 500/1
Phoenix Suns: 500/1
Odds to lead NBA in scoring in 2016-17:
James Harden: 4/1
Russell Westbrook: 9/2
DeMarcus Cousins: 8/1
Damian Lillard: 8/1
Kevin Durant: 9/1
Stephen Curry: 10/1
Anthony Davis: 18/1
LeBron James: 18/1
Paul George: 25/1
DeMar DeRozan: 30/1
Odds to lead Team USA in scoring at the 2016 Olympics:
Kevin Durant: 5/2
Carmelo Anthony: 3/1
DeMarcus Cousins: 5/1
Klay Thompson: 8/1
DeMar DeRozan: 10/1
DeAndre Jordan: 15/1
Jimmy Butler: 20/1
Odds Golden State and Cleveland match-up in the 2017 NBA Finals: 6/5
Odds Derek Fisher scores a point in the 2016-17 NBA season: 5/2
From now until the 2017 NBA Finals, odds Draymond Green will:
Win a gold medal: 1/50
Get suspended: 3/1
Send another lewd picture on social media: 12/1
Get arrested: 20/1
Become a porn star: 200/1
Acquire the Zika virus: 500/1
Become President Trump’s Secretary of State: 8,000,000/1
(Photo Credit: Keith Allison (Originally uploaded to Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/])
