NBA Finals Odds: All Signs Point to Celtics vs Warriors

• Sportsbooks have created odds for the NBA’s most likely 2019 Finals matchups
• Can the Warriors reach the Finals for the fifth straight year?
• Will Kawhi Leonard prove to be the Raptors’ missing piece? 

Good news, basketball fans! For the first time in five years you won’t have to sit through a heavily lopsided Warriors vs Cavaliers Finals rematch. LeBron James all but guaranteed that outcome on July 1st when he announced his intentions to take his talents to Los Angeles.

LeBron’s decision officially brought an end to Cleveland’s dynasty and opened the door for other teams to challenge Golden State in June. Sportsbooks have surveyed the league’s new landscape and has created odds for which two teams are most likely to face off in the 2019 NBA Finals.

NBA Finals Matchup Odds

It should come as no surprise that the Warriors are featured in four of the six most likely matchups. After all, the defending champs have won two straight titles and added All-NBA center DeMarcus Cousins in the offseason without breaking up their sensational core. Golden State can now become the first team since the 1975-76 Celtics to roll out a line-up featuring five All-Stars from the previous season.

Boston Celtics

The real intrigue lies in whom they’ll face. Sportsbooks believe the Warriors’ most likely opponent will be the Celtics at +120. Boston came within a few bounces of reaching the Finals in 2018 despite playing without leading scorer Kyrie Irving and his All-Star running mate, Gordon Hayward. Both players are healthy again and should form a fearsome starting five along with up-and-comers Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and human wrecking ball Aaron Baynes

Boston has the size, length, and athleticism to switch one-through-five, and now with Irving and Hayward back in the fold, they also have the playmaking they missed during their deep playoff run. Brown and Tatum showed flashes of being big time finishers against the Bucks and Sixers, but Boston is still at its best when the serve as secondary and tertiary options on offense.

The Celtics’ bench should also get a big time boost from Terry Rozier, who was hotter than a two dollar pistol during the first two rounds of the playoffs. The 24-year-old guard averaged 19 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists against Philadelphia before coming back to Earth in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Philadelphia 76ers

Sportsbooks are also bullish on the Sixers, whom they’ve given +500 odds of butting heads with the Warriors. Philadelphia saw the Process come to fruition last season as the club won 52 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time in seven years. Joel Embiid earned his first All-Star berth, Ben Simmons was named Rookie of the Year, and TJ McConnell ensured he’ll never have to buy his own drinks again after single-handedly winning a playoff game against Boston.

The 76ers’ big X factor is Markelle Fultz, who sat out much of 2017-18 as he rebuilt his shot from the ground up. The Sixers still love his size and physicality, but they can’t afford to play him in line-ups with Simmons until one (or both) players can begin hitting mid-range shots.

Toronto Raptors

One other team to keep an eye on are the Raptors at +750. Toronto made the biggest gamble of all this summer when they traded franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan for disgruntled forward Kawhi Leonard.

Can Leonard be the All-NBA defender who made life miserable for opposing wings, or will he be the All-World diva who reportedly hid from Spurs officials?

The Klaw is the league’s most tenacious one-on-one defender when he’s healthy and motivated, but questions about his state of mind still abound. Can Leonard be the All-NBA defender who made life miserable for opposing wings, or will he be the All-World diva who fled to New York and reportedly hid from Spurs officials? For now, there are still too many red flags to pick the Raptors over the Celtics or Sixers.

Kawhi Leonard allegedly hid from Spurs officials when they visited him in NYC. https://t.co/zmHqozNAyZ pic.twitter.com/CoFm1p2A49

— The Source Magazine (@TheSource) July 8, 2018

Make sure to act fast as the odds are only available until August 16th at 8:00 p.m.