The new NBA season is almost upon us and it is certainly going to have a different feel to what we are used to. We will not see packed stadiums, the hope is that some fans will be allowed to enter but who knows if that will definitely happen and for how long.
This is just another part of the puzzle that those betting on the NBA have to work out when they are making their picks before the season starts. Moneyline bets on the NBA are some of the most popular, this is deciding simply who will win the game and this line offers a great starting point for newcomers.
However, if you want a bet to last the entire season then it is the outright markets you need to be looking at for this, covering the NBA title as well as both conferences.
NBA Championship Outright Odds
The LA Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship, their 17th overall to tie the Boston Celtics league-wide on that number of wins. It will come as no surprise to basketball fans to see that the Lakers are favourites to win again during the 2020/21 season.
They were dominant, and have kept together that team to go again this season, with a couple of tweaks to it.
Their biggest challenger seems set to be the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks or their city rivals the LA Clippers.
These four are clearly ahead of the rest of the NBA in the betting, and are the only four teams to be single figure prices with the bookmakers.
Anyone who fancies a different team away from the big four will be rewarded with big odds that is for sure.
Who Will Win the Eastern Conference?
The Miami Heat won the Eastern Conference in 2020, but there are three teams ahead of them in the betting to win again in 2021.
Leading the way we have the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks while the seemingly ever present Boston Celtics are not too far behind the front two in the betting.
Then we have the Heat, so in terms of the odds on offer at the start of the season, seeing them go back to back would be a small surprise. The Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors are the only other two teams to have realistic claims according to the bookmakers.
Anyone not mentioned here can be backed at odds of 40/1 or greater, showing what chances the bookmakers think they have of gaining any kind of Eastern Conference success during the new season.
If the bookmakers have this right, the Eastern Conference will not be heading back to Miami, instead the Nets and Bucks will fight it out.
Who Will Win the Western Conference?
From a betting perspective, the Western Conference has a strong favourite, with the LA Lakers strong favourites for success. However, behind the Lakers, the picture looks wide open.
The LA Clippers are second best but teams such as the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are all in with a chance of causing an upset.
This is more teams than you would say have a realistic chance of winning the east, despite the Lakers being a strong favourite than anyone over in the other conference.
This side of the league really depends on the Lakers and if they maintain the dominance they showed us last season, while also keeping healthy.
Do that and the bookmakers think they will win the Western Conference, but if they don’t things will be thrown wide open and plenty of teams will fancy their chances.
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