Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2020-21 season came to a disappointing end on Thursday night as the Phoenix Suns wrapped up the series with a 113-100 win. While the Lakers will have to wait until next year to take another shot at winning the NBA championship, nine teams are still alive to win the title in 2021.
With the Lakers out of the way, the Brooklyn Nets have emerged as the clear betting favorite on the odds to win the NBA championship going off at +160 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Nets are 9-1 SU and ATS over their last 10 games and look like an unstoppable force with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all healthy and playing well together.
The Milwaukee Bucks (+550 on the title odds at sports betting sites) could be the biggest obstacle left in Brooklyn’s path, and the two teams are set for a collision course in the conference semifinals as their series starts on Saturday night. Milwaukee swept the Miami Heat and won the last three games in the series by an average margin of victory of 26.7 points per game. Could this finally be the year that Giannis Antetokounmpo finds success in the postseason?
The Utah Jazz (+350) have the NBA’s best record at 56-21 SU and 45-31-1 ATS. After dropping Game 1 to the Memphis Grizzlies with Donovan Mitchell out of the lineup, the Jazz went 4-0 SU and ATS over the next four games of the series to punch their ticket into the second round. Utah will face the Denver Nuggets (+1800) with a trip to the Western Conference Finals on the line.
The Phoenix Suns (+850) await the winner of Sunday afternoon’s Game 7 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks. Los Angeles is a 6.5-point favorite to win Game 7 on the NBA odds and is currently going off at +600 to win the NBA championship; those odds will improve if the Clippers escape the first round. The Mavericks are the longest shot on the board at +6000 to win the title.
The Philadelphia 76ers (+1100) and the Atlanta Hawks (+3500) round out the betting board. The 76ers would have better odds if not for the uncertainty swirling around Joel Embiid’s health heading into this series against Atlanta and beyond.
Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for analysis on this week’s top games. As well, the OddsShark Computer serves up daily NBA picks for bettors.
