The 2016-17 NBA season is actually a little sad. Last year, it was a foregone conclusion for basically the whole year that the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were on a crash course for each other in the NBA Finals. It’s hard to say that this year is anything different, especially since both teams are heavy favorites in the December NBA odds to win their respective conferences.
In fact, the Warriors made themselves even stronger in the offseason when they added Kevin Durant. There was some discussion for sure as to how Durant would fit in with Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but it’s hard to say that this has been anything but a smashing success to this point.
NBA Finals Odds Favor the Warriors
The team is 23-4, is averaging 117.3 points per game and has a defense that ranks No. 4 in opposing field goal percentage and No. 1 in opposing three-point shooting percentage.
Sure, Green is taking a bit of a backseat from a scoring perspective at just 10.8 points per game, but when you’ve got Durant, Thompson and Curry combining for over 70 points per game between them, your fourth fiddle can get away with doing more than just scoring. Green also leads the team in rebounding and assists, and for a man who effectively plays center more often than not, that’s pretty darn impressive.
Other Notable NBA Championship Contenders?
As a result, the Dubs are also odds-on basketball betting favorites to win the championship at -150, a price that we just can’t imagine is going to get much better or worse than this over the course of the rest of the season.
The fact of the matter is that there’s really only one contender to fight it out against the Warriors’ odds for the second straight year. They’re quietly 21-5 and have that “team” concept still in play, even with Tim Duncan retiring at the end of last season. An NBA betting price of +1000 on San Antonio though, is tremendously damning considering the fact that that’s the third best price on the board.
NBA Finals Sleeper Picks
Cleveland clearly has an easier path to the NBA Finals. The East is pathetically weak once again, and the next team in line to challenge the Cavs, the Toronto Raptors, who are +4000 to win it all.
Sure, the Cavaliers are only 18-6 through their first 24 games of the year, but what they do in December doesn’t matter. We’ve already seen Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James rested a few times this year, and that’s going to continue through the rest of the season for sure.
The games don’t really start to count for Cleveland until May, and that’s why this price of +260 to win the NBA championship is going to hang out around the same place throughout the majority of the season.
NBA Finals Odds Update
Golden State Warriors -150
Cleveland Cavaliers +260
San Antonio Spurs +1000
Los Angeles Clippers +1800
Toronto Raptors +4000
Boston Celtics +4500
Houston Rockets +5000
Charlotte Hornets +7500
Oklahoma City Thunder +7500
Memphis Grizzlies +8000
Utah Jazz +8000
Chicago Bulls +10000
New York Knicks +10000
Atlanta Hawks +12500
Portland Trail Blazers +12500
Detroit Pistons +18000
Milwaukee Bucks +20000
Indiana Pacers +22500
Washington Wizards +30000
Minnesota Timberwolves +50000
Sacramento Kings +50000
Denver Nuggets +60000
Los Angeles Lakers +60000
New Orleans Pelicans +60000
Miami Heat +125000
Orlando Magic +125000
Brooklyn Nets +500000
Dallas Mavericks +500000
Philadelphia 76ers +500000
Phoenix Suns +500000
(Odds courtesy of Bookmaker.eu as of December 18, 2016)
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