Betting NBA Futures
Looking for 2016 NBA Futures Odds? After Sunday afternoon we finally have our NBA Final Four bracket set and I think we have to be pretty pleased with our options. The top teams in both conferences have maintained the pole positions joined by the second (Toronto) and third place (OKC) options.
NBA Handicapping Tips
Sure there are going to be underdogs and favourites from here on out but we should be getting some really good action. Unless the Raps are just too fatigued to compete.
(Stat head challenge: Has a team with two sweeps and a team with two seven game wins ever faced off against each other?)
Let’s break down the championship odds as they stand right now.
2016 NBA Futures Odds: Golden State Warriors 5/9
The Warriors have spent a chunk of the playoffs without the services of their unanimous MVP yet have still managed to win their two series with relative ease.
Since he has been back in the lineup Steph Curry has shown little rust and the way the team has soldiered on without him only further shows the strength of the defending champions.
The odds may not make them a great bet (because we like to get paid when we win) but nothing I have seen in these playoffs has me doubting they will repeat as champs. We just have to find a way to profit from it.
2016 NBA Futures Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers 9/5
In sweeping their first two series no team has looked as good as the Cavs.
LeBron’s scoring may be a bit down but his efficiency is way up and it looks like he finally believes he can defer to the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love without the team taking a hit.
The Cavs have been unconscious from three-point range in the playoffs, to the point that even if they regress a little they will still be able to use it as a weapon.
The only thing standing in the way of them reaching the Finals again is Toronto, a team that did beat them twice in the regular season but might just be happy to have made it this far…and a little gassed.
2016 NBA Futures Odds: Oklahoma City Thunder 7/1
The Thunder were as impressive as any of the teams listed above them in taking three in a row to knock San Antonio out of the playoffs.
I always did think they had a chance to win the series but never imagined they could get on that kind of roll against a team that good.
The task now gets that much more difficult with Golden State, a team that cut their heart out during the regular season, but if you are one that believes star power trumps all than the combo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have a real shot.
They are the current leaders in scoring and assists in these playoffs. I can see it but I am not sure if I believe it.
2016 NBA Futures Odds: Toronto Raptors 50/1
Normally a second seed would not be such a huge long shot at this stage but there are a lot of things conspiring against the Raptors, hence the huge odds.
First Golden State just may be the best team of the last decade while Cleveland has looked super impressive in these playoffs so far and has literally been waiting for the Raptors to limp into town.
Add in the fact that they are down one of their most important players (center Jonas Valanciunas) and are likely exhausted from back to back seven game series and it is easy to justify odds that might sit more like 20/1 in a normal season.
If you like their run to continue though now is the time to bet them. Kyle Lowry might just be hitting his stride and he has played well against Cleveland during the regular season.
That is why they play the games right?
2016 NBA Futures Odds Prediction
An NBA season is a pretty good sample size on which to make prognostications so now that the Warriors are whole again it is hard to bet against them.
That being said I think the best value at the moment is OKC. They have a good payoff and I think it is fair to say that they have been the most impressive so far.
Yeah Cleveland’s demolition of Atlanta raised some eyebrows but the Thunder took down the Spurs, a much more impressive feat, and if they even advance to the Finals they will have taken out the Warriors too so their value will never be as good, especially if the Cavs sweep again.
With a couple of stars like they have I don’t see that as completely beyond the realm of possibility.
We will find out exactly where they are at when their series tips off tonight.
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