The National Basketball Association (NBA) loves to celebrate the fact that there is a ton of parity throughout the league, but that might not be the case this season. Even though there are upsets every single night, that doesn’t mean that a ton of teams actually have a chance to advance deep into the playoffs.
Both the Eastern and Western Conference have seen teams load up with talent in an attempt to get to the NBA Finals, but it might not be working for everyone. Even though we are still in the first full month of the season, it looks as if there are only a couple of contenders emerging.
Here is a look at the betting odds at BetDSI that you want to focus on if you are going to bet on the conference champions.
Two Favorites in the East
The Miami Heat were the winners of the Eastern Conference a season ago, and this conference has had some surprising results in recent years. There doesn’t appear to be any major surprise teams this year as two teams appear to be ahead of the pack.
The Boston Celtics are the betting favorites to win the East this season at +150, and at some point this team has to get the job done. Boston loaded up with a big three this season, and Jayson Tatum might be the MVP of the league.
The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled at times this season, but they still have betting odds set at +175. Milwaukee now has Damian Lillard alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and those two superstars will be hard to stop in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers are listed at +600 (at BetDSI) to win the Eastern Conference this season, and they are currently on top of the standings. It’s just hard to see the Sixers having enough scoring to win the conference, especially if they don’t add some new talent.
Is the West Already Won?
The Denver Nuggets are the defending NBA champions, and they are the favorite to win the league title again this season. Denver was able to stand pat in the offseason, and they sat around and watched other teams load up to try to get past them.
The Nuggets are listed as the favorites to win the Western Conference at +250, making them pretty clear favorites. The Phoenix Suns are next at +375, but there is no way that team is beating the current version of the Nuggets in a playoff series.
You can’t ignore teams like the Golden State Warriors and the Clippers and Lakers, but every team has some key flaws. These teams have been aggressive in an attempt to try to catch up to the Nuggets, but they still don’t have a roster that is good enough to compete.
Wait to Make Picks
At this point in time, it feels pretty clear that there could be only four teams that will end up in the NBA Finals. The problem with making a bet right now though is that you aren’t going to get enough value in the betting odds.
The NBA season is extremely long, and even the best teams are going to go through some tough stretches. You want to wait until the odds fall a bit for the big betting favorites and then is when you want to strike.
You should always be keeping your eye on the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics though, as those are the two teams that will represent their respective conference in the NBA Finals at the end of the 2023-24 season.
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