NBA Betting Favorites & Potential Surprises for the 2018 Championship

We’re into the last quarter of the 2017-18 regular season in the National Basketball Association, and the playoff races are tightening in both conferences. In the Eastern Conference, the third through eighth seeds (if the season ended today) are all within 4 ½ games of each other — and three through seven are within 3 ½ games. Miami (currently in eighth) is three games ahead of Detroit and 4 ½ games ahead of Charlotte, but the Heat have dropped seven of the last ten, so they could fall out of the postseason if they’re not careful. In the West, the Houston Rockets have won 14 games in a row and have become one of the NBA Betting favorites to win it all. The Rockets and Warriors sit 1-2, in a virtual tie, with the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves 11 games back. Much like in the East, the rest of the conference is a logjam, with 3 ½ games separating Minnesota from Denver, sitting in the ninth slot. With all that jockeying to come, we could see some real intrigue once the postseason begins. Check out our online betting look at how you could get value out of the NBA playoffs.

NBA Betting Favorites & Potential Surprises for the 2018 Championship

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— NBA (@NBA) 1 de marzo de 2018

Golden State Warriors

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 5/8

The Warriors still have the horses — and they have the resume. They’re not showing any signs of slowing down, as that combination of Kevin Durant and Draymond Green defending inside and Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson draining shots from the outside have proven lethal, night after night after night. But can the Warriors get stops against another big offensive power in the West?

Houston Rockets

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 9/2

If there’s a team that can outscore Golden State, it’s Houston, with the duo of James Harden and Chris Paul every bit as capable of filling up the basket as Curry and Thompson. Houston has won two of the three meetings between the top West squads this season. A renewed commitment to defense in Houston has made the difference between a novel team and a contending team, and with these two powers in the West (along with some of the other teams down the Western Conference table) it’s no wonder that LeBron James has no interest in seeing the playoffs reseeded outside conference lines — in the East, his path to the Finals has always been easier than the one that the Western Conference teams have to travel.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 5/2

Yes, the Cavaliers reshuffled their roster to mollify King James. The team delivered with a 22-point out of Boston on the road and an 8-point win in Oklahoma City. Since then, though, they’ve gone 2-2, losing at home to Washington and San Antonio, and beating an injury-depleted Memphis team and then barely holding off Brooklyn at home. The issue that plagued the team before the trade — an inability to commit to defense — remains an issue for the team after, suggesting that the problems may have had more to do with mindset than manpower. I don’t know that I’d pick Cleveland to make it to the East finals, let alone come out as conference champions.

Toronto Raptors

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 12/1

Winners of nine of their last ten, the Toronto Raptors look like the best team in the East. It’s a conference full of conundrums, as even Boston has shown that their early-season winning streak was illusory in some ways. However, the Raptors have dealt punishment up to and down the standings, beating Boston by 20 during this recent streak, and beating Portland by 25. However, they have a hard time getting wins in the harsher light of the postseason. Can they shake that rep?

Oklahoma City Thunder

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 25/1

This team has already routed Golden State twice this season. However, they’ve also taken a number of bad losses — and when Paul George doesn’t hit shots, this team looks ugly. With a Jekyll and Hyde personality like this, Oklahoma City could go on a run and knock out some teams above them — or they could flame out. They’re in seventh right now in the West, which would have them opening with Golden State, and that’s a series that could easily go seven games. If you’re looking at dark horses, this is where I would begin.

Philadelphia 76ers

• NBA Betting Odds to win the Championship: 66/1

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have put the hopes of an entire city on their back — and since the calendar turned to February, the Sixers have steadily climbed the standings and now sit at sixth in the East. If the season ended today, that would put them on a collision course with Cleveland in the first round, and if the gamesmanship of Embiid and the dagger-like shooting of Simmons can rattle King James, who knows what can happen? If Philadelphia can get to fifth or even fourth in the standings, I’d definitely pick them to get to the second round, or possibly even the conference finals.

Last 10 NBA Champions

• 2017: Golden State Warriors
• 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2015: Golden State Warriors
• 2014: San Antonio Spurs
• 2013: Miami Heat
• 2012: Miami Heat
• 2011: Dallas Mavericks
• 2010: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2008: Boston Celtics