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Midseason NBA Betting Predictions for the 2018 Championship

Midseason NBA Betting Predictions for the 2018 Championship

Written by on February 14, 2018

NBA News and Rumors
With the 2018 NBA All-Star weekend looming on the horizon, it’s a good time to take a look at one of the most popular sports betting futures wagers relating to the Association — the eventual champion of the league, who will be crowned in June after four rounds of postseason play. Based on where things stand now, we have some NBA betting ideas about what will shake out down the road.

Midseason NBA Betting Predictions for the 2018 Championship

Can Houston really make it out of the West?

At 42-13, the Houston Rockets are a half-game ahead of the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The difference this season has been the addition of Chris Paul in the backcourt with James Harden — as well as a newfound commitment to defense. Inside, though (where the Rockets fell apart in the playoffs last year), Clint Capela has emerged as one major contributor. He had 23 points and 25 boards last Friday against Denver, which was the first 20-20 game by a Rocket since Dwight Howard pulled it off two years ago. Timely defense and rebounding give the Rockets an edge — but I still don’t think they can get past the Warriors. The Rockets aren’t a safe NBA betting pick right now.

Can Toronto really make it out of the East?

The Raptors have won five games in a row by 15 points or more, the longest such streak in team history. The only other team to assemble a similar streak this season has been Golden State, which won six in a row by at least 15 points earlier in the year. However, there’s still that four-game sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s postseason that has to be heavy on the minds of the Raptors. Do they have the defense to stop LeBron & Company four times in seven games? Can their offensive playmakers, starting with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in the backcourt, outscore the Cavaliers?

Are the Boston Celtics headed downward?

While the Cleveland Cavaliers made some huge moves at the trade deadline, Boston stood pat — and they went 1-3 last week. The Celtics finished with the top seed in the East last year — and lost in the conference finals to Cleveland in five games. Boston retired Paul Pierce’s jersey on Sunday, right after a 24-point shellacking by those same Cavaliers. It’s hard to say just what the Celtics need, but they’re not looking like a NBA betting pick to win it all right now.

Are the Warriors still the presumptive champion?

Even after Cleveland pulled off that massive upgrade of their roster, Golden State didn’t seem worried at all — Steve Kerr even let his players do some coaching in a game over the weekend (and the team won in a rout). Draymond Green’s temper is getting the best of his again (he’s only a couple technical fouls away from a one-game suspension) but, other than that, the balance out in the Bay seems to be as solid as ever.

Was the reshuffle in Cleveland enough to catch Golden State?

When Cleveland sent six of their players to other teams at the trade deadline, they tied a league record for the most departing players at the deadline. Who set that record? Cleveland, of course — back in 2008. They got younger and more athletic, and they got Utah’s starting backcourt from a year ago. The four players they brought in put up a combined 49 points on Boston in Sunday’s rout. So they added offense — but can they get stops against Golden State? I’m not sure that Cleveland got tough enough on defense with their moves.

Are the Minnesota Timberwolves a legitimate sleeper?

The scoring prowess of Jimmy Butler was a definite plus for the Timberwolves to acquire, and they already had a legitimately elite big man in Karl-Anthony Towns. They can score in bunches, as they showed when they pushed Cleveland to overtime. But can they get stops when they need to? That’s often the key to getting big playoff wins.
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