Sports betting has had to make odds changes just as quickly as the flurry of trades that have transpired in the NBA this season. At the beginning of the season the Los Angeles Lakers were the favorite to win the NBA championship which is the team a lot of people had chosen to win as well. This season more stars have been traded in the middle of the season as has been during any other season in recent memory. How have all of these trades affected what teams are favored to win the NBA finals this year?
The Miami Heat are the top team to win the title at many sports books, and at the trade deadline they did not make any moves. They did manage to sign Mike Bibby after his contract was bought out after he was traded out of Atlanta. The Oklahoma City Thunder sent Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to the Boston Celtics in return for Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins, which so far has looked like a good deal for Boston after initially not making sense to most experts.
The Utah Jazz sent Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets in return for Devin Harris and Derrick Favors because the Jazz were getting signals that Williams was probably not going to sign a long term deal with them when his contract ended. Then of course everyone has heard about the New York Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets in a nine player deal.
With these trades being so recent it is unclear how much better or worse these teams are going to become as a result, and the sports betting odds makers have already adjusted their betting lines to adjust for the trades. Here are the latest odds for teams to win the NBA Finals for internet casino websites:
Miami Heat Even Money
San Antonio Spurs 1.50 to 1
Los Angeles Lakers 2 to 1
Boston Celtics 2 to 1
Orlando Magic 8 to 1
Dallas Mavericks 10 to 1
Chicago Bulls 10 to 1
Oklahoma City Thunder 15 to 1
New York Knicks 15 to 1
Atlanta Hawks 60 to 1
New Orleans Hornets 60 to 1
Utah Jazz 90 to 1
Denver Nuggets 100 to 1
Portland Trail Blazers 100 to 1
Phoenix Suns 200 to 1
Indiana Pacers 200 to 1
Memphis Grizzlies 200 to 1
Philadelphia 76ers 200 to 1
Toronto Raptors 200 to 1
Houston Rockets 300 to 1
Golden State Warriors 400 to 1
New Jersey Nets 400 to 1
Los Angeles Clippers 500 to 1
Milwaukee Bucks 500 to 1
Charlotte Bobcats 500 to 1
Detroit Pistons 1,000 to 1
Minnesota Timberwolves 2,500 to 1
Sacramento Kings 2,500 to 1
Cleveland Cavaliers 2,500 to 1
With t he Miami Heat currently on a four game losing streak it’s like playing online roulette to pick them to win the NBA Finals at this point. The Celtics and Bulls look like the better teams in the Eastern Conference at this point, and the fact that the Heat have split with the Orlando Magic on the season you can’t say they are even better than them at this point. The odds makers still feel that the Miami Heat are the team most likely to get to the NBA finals and win it, but the way this season has gone that seems highly unlikely.
