Five days from now, the 2021-22 NBA regular season will come to a close. The Los Angeles Lakers officially were eliminated from the postseason after losing to Phoenix on Tuesday night, so the San Antonio Spurs will have the tenth slot in the West, opening the play-in tournament with a trip to New Orleans to face the Pelicans. Injuries plagued the Lakers this season, as Anthony Davis and LeBron James missed a combined 61 games, and Kendrick Nunn did not appear on the floor at all. Russell Westbrook struggled to fit in with the rest of the offense. In the East, questions have swirled around the Chicago Bulls, who sit in sixth place but have posted a 1-12 record against the top four teams in their conference, which would make it difficult to get past the first round. They also just shut down point guard Lonzo Ball for the rest of the season; he had knee surgery on January 28 for a meniscus tear, but rehab has been difficult, as game-level activity is still causing significant pain. Without Ball, the Bulls will struggle even more in the postseason. As you consider the playoffs, here are the NBA betting odds for each team still alive for the postseason to win their respective conference titles and advance to the NBA Finals.
NBA News: Conference Championship Odds
Eastern Conference
| Team | Odds |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +235 |
| Brooklyn Nets | +320 |
| Boston Celtics | +425 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +450 |
| Miami Heat | +500 |
| Chicago Bulls | +3500 |
| Toronto Raptors | +4500 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | +7500 |
| Atlanta Hawks | +11000 |
| Charlotte Hornets | +30000 |
Boston is 26-6 in their last 32 games; over that stretch, their positive net ratings is in the double digits. Robert Williams is out, which means that rim defense is an area of difficulty, but this is a white-hot team right now, and momentum going into the playoffs is an invaluable asset.
Miami is riding a four-game winning streak that has erased the sour taste of a slump from their mouths. The last three wins came on the road against tough teams, which is even more encouraging going into the playoffs.
Milwaukee lost by 34 to the Clippers, but the Bucks did rest a lot of key players. Losing at home to Dallas was a tougher result because the Bucks played everyone. The Bucks struggle to get defensive stops, and they struggle to control the lane; Luka Doncic purposely sought pick plays to draw Giannis Antetokounmpo covering him, to open things up in the lane, which was where Dwight Powell went nuts for Dallas. If you can’t stop Dwight Powell in the lane, then your interior defense has some real problems.
Western Conference
| Team | Odds |
| Phoenix Suns | +115 |
| Golden State Warriors | +425 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +600 |
| Utah Jazz | +900 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +1000 |
| Denver Nuggets | +1200 |
| L.A. Clippers | +1800 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +4500 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +25000 |
| San Antonio Spurs | +100000 |
Phoenix is in the top three in the league in both offense and defense. They lead the NBA in net rating and have the best win-loss record. Yes, the Suns have dropped their last two, but this is a team resting ahead of the playoffs.
However, Memphis is one of the two teams that just beat Phoenix, and the Grizzlies only had one of their usual starters in the lineup. A scary stat about the Grizzlies: without their top scorer, Ja Morant, in the lineup, the team has posted a 20-2 record this is. They have won seven games in a row overall, but their ability to stay consistent without their best player tells us a lot about their depth, which is even more important in the playoffs.
Dallas lost by 32 to Washington…and then beat Milwaukee. This remains a team that can lay some real eggs, even though their wins are getting more and more impressive. This is a team that started 16-18 under new head coach Jason Kidd and has gone 31-12 since, and winning playoff series means stringing multiple quality games together, a trait that this team had lost under Rick Carlisle.
NBA Betting Odds
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