NBA Championship Odds 2018: Warriors Dominating the Competition

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The NBA has had a massive power shift to the Western Conference during the 2017 offseason, which seemingly makes LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers road to their fourth-straight NBA Finals a whole lot easier. Names like Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Paul Millsap are on the move from the Eastern Conference to the West, which predicts this to be one of the most stacked seasons for a conference in history.

When evaluating the NBA Championship odds as well as the odds for each team to win the Eastern Conference, it’s pretty apparent that the West is expected to dominate. Let’s take a look at the 2018 NBA Championship odds first from Vegas Insiders.


2018 NBA Championship Odds

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  • Golden State Warriors: -170
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: +450
  • Boston Celtics: +1000
  • Houston Rockets: +1000
  • San Antonio Spurs: +1000
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: +3300
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: +4000
  • Utah Jazz: +4000
  • Washington Wizards: +4000
  • Milwaukee Bucks: +5000
  • Toronto Raptors: +5000
  • New Orleans Pelicans: +6600
  • Philadelphia 76ers: +8000
  • Denver Nuggets: +10000
  • Los Angeles Clippers: +10000
  • Los Angeles Lakers: +10000
  • Memphis Grizzlies: +10000
  • Miami Heat: +10000
  • Orlando Magic:+10000
  • Charlotte Hornets: +12500
  • Portland Trail Blazers: +12500
  • Dallas Mavericks: +15000
  • Detroit Pistons: +15000
  • New York Knicks: +15000
  • Atlanta Hawks: +20000
  • Indiana Pacers: +20000
  • Chicago Bulls: +25000
  • Phoenix Suns: +50000
  • Sacramento Kings: +50000
  • Brooklyn Nets: +75000

Of the top eight favorites to win the NBA Championship next year, only two of them are from the Eastern Conference (Cavaliers and Celtics). Also, the top half of the league in terms of favorites are made up of nine teams out of the 15.

One could also probably argue that the only reason why a few of these teams from the East are high is due to the fact that the conference has gotten worse as a whole. In turn, this has opened up a more clear path for each to potentially keep the Cavaliers from winning the conference again.

One interesting situation here is what will happen to the Celtics odds now that they’ve wound up landing Gordon Hayward in free agency. That would also impact their chances to win the East and would put quite a bit of pressure on James and the Cavaliers.

So, let’s check out the Eastern Conference odds on Vegas Insider, as there’s plenty of intriguing there also.


2018 Eastern Conference Title Odds

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  • Cleveland Cavaliers: -150
  • Boston Celtics: +350
  • Washington Wizards: +1000
  • Milwaukee Bucks: +1400
  • Toronto Raptors: +1400
  • Philadelphia 76ers: +2500
  • Orlando Magic:+3300
  • Miami Heat: +4000
  • New York Knicks: +5000
  • Detroit Pistons: +5000
  • Charlotte Hornets: +5000
  • Indiana Pacers: +6600
  • Atlanta Hawks: +8000
  • Chicago Bulls: +10000
  • Brooklyn Nets: +25000

It’s worth noting that Hayward signing with the Celtics, should not only increase Boston’s odds and chances of taking down the Cavaliers, but it could also means larger odds for the rest of the East. Two teams pulling away in one conference should essentially create even fewer realistic championship contenders from the rest of the group.

From the East, though, it’s really hard to envision anyone other than the Cavaliers, Celtics or maybe John Wall and the Wizards taking down the conference. At this point, even the Wizards would be a real stretch, so the only bets that seem to make sense are the top two teams.

It will be interesting to see how the remainder of free agency winds up impacting these odds.