Betting On The NBA Finals
The 2017 NBA Finals begin on June 1st and feature a matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Eastern Conference Champions – more than likely the Cavs, but hey, maybe the Celtics will be able to make a miracle happen. Golden State made the playoffs look like a cake walk this year, sweeping all three of their series on their way to the finals. Want to know what Golden State’s betting odds are to win the 2017 NBA Championship?
Oddsmakers have been favoring the Warriors since NBA season betting opened. As Golden State has moved through the playoffs, betting odds at all books have just gotten shorter and shorter. As the Eastern Conference Finals are still underway, Golden State’s NBA Finals betting odds are still against the field. Currently, they’re sitting at -275, making them favorites once again.
Over on the eastern side of things, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been wiping the floor with the Boston Celtics, leading the series 3-1. Game five takes place on May 25th in Boston, and it is a must-win for the Celtics. Not many people are confident in their ability to win, especially not oddsmakers. Right now, the Cavs are 10.5 point favorites on the board, and their NBA Finals betting odds have shortened immensely since the series started.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics currently have +30000 odds to win the 2017 NBA Championship. Honestly, it might be fun just to drop a $10 bet on that line just for the hell of it. That would yield about a $3,000 return if Boston were able to pull it off.
More realistically, however, your Eastern Conference Champions will more than likely be the Cleveland Cavaliers. If they can win tonight, that gives them a full week of rest leading up to Game 1 on June 1st. Cleveland’s 2017 NBA Championship betting odds are +190 right now, but expect that to shorten if (when) they clinch the Conference Championship. Getting in a bet right now would yield a much higher return than if you waited until the finals. Then again, if the Conference Finals series goes to seven games their odds to win the Championship will probably drop considerably.
If you don’t want to wager on the games themselves, you can get your bet in on who will be the NBA Finals MVP. Leading the board are two Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Who has the better betting odds? Curry has a slight edge over Durant at the moment, by just a hair. This could change as the conference finals go on and as we get into the Finals. On the Eastern side of the board, LeBron leads his teammate Kyrie Irving by hundreds, but they both trail behind Curry and Durant. Anything can happen though, and remember that betting odds are made mostly on public perception rather than actual probability.
The NBA decided to do things a little differently this year, and announce the regular season MVP at the end of the Finals, instead of after the regular season. It made for an interesting matchup between Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as OKC took on Houston in round one of the Western Conference playoffs. Both players led the field for best odds to win the regular season MVP. Technically the MVP voting wouldn’t be influenced by the playoff series but c’mon, we’re not dumb.
Fortunately, the playoffs might have actually helped make the case for the player who, in my opinion, deserves the MVP more than anyone else this season. His team might have lost in round one, but he certainly did not. So who (rightly) has the best odds to win 2017 regular season MVP? Russel Westbrook. While Houston bested the Thunder, Westbrook proved that he deserves this award. His MVP betting odds are currently at -1400. James Harden follows with the second best odds to win MVP, at +800. Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James round out the field, but their betting odds for regular season MVP are pretty long. And that’s me being generous. So if you want to take a break from betting on the NBA Finals, you can bet on some NBA futures.
However you choose to bet on the remainder of the basketball season, your best options can be found at legal betting sites like an online, offshore sportsbook. These sites are located in other countries, which are your only legal sports betting options at the moment, unless you want to travel to Nevada. At least until lawmakers in Washington get their heads out of their butts and repeal PASPA. But that’s a soapbox for another time.