2021-22 NBA Championship Futures Update
Injuries and part-time players haven’t changed the oddsmaker’s mind about the Brooklyn Nets, who remain the favorites in NBA championship futures.
In the latest NBA futures at Bovada Sportsbook, the Nets are +260 favorites. That’s down slightly from the +250 odds they were getting at Christmastime and the +200 odds they had before the season started.
Short-handed Nets still favored to win NBA championship
The Nets’ biggest question marks right now are the health of Kevin Durant and the playing time for Kyrie Irving. Durant is currently sidelined by a knee injury with no timeline set for his eventual return. Irving is only a part-time player right now as his vaccination status prevents him from playing games at home. Brooklyn’s big three of Durant, Irving and James Harden have only appeared together in two games this season.
The Nets are fourth in the East right now, but that may not be a bad thing as home court hasn’t been an advantage for them this season since Irving can’t play there. The Nets are 12-13 at home compared to 17-6 on the road.
Following the Nets in NBA futures odds are the Golden State Warriors at +475, the Phoenix Suns at +600 and the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks at +700, the only other teams getting triple-digit odds.
Warriors adjusting to Thompson’s return, Green’s absence
Golden State started the new year off on the wrong foot with a 5-6 record in its first 11 games of 2022 but have since won three straight. That rough patch coincided with the return of Klay Thompson, who had missed the past two seasons due to injury.
The Warriors are also currently missing Draymond Green, who has sat out nine games with a lingering calf injury. Once Golden State gets everyone back in the lineup and works out a new rotation, bettors will want to see how long it takes the Dubs to get in a groove before the playoffs.
The Suns boast the NBA’s best record at 38-9, and three of those losses came in their first four games of the season. Thanks to that record, their futures odds have steadily improved from +1800 in the preseason to +800 at Christmas to their current standing at +600. One stat the bettors should note about the Suns is that two of their losses have come against Golden State, a likely future matchup during a playoff run.
Heat provide good value as top team in Eastern Conference
The odds at Bovada for a few other notable teams include the Miami Heat at +1200, Utah Jazz at +1300, Los Angeles Lakers at +1600, Chicago Bulls at +2200 and the Memphis Grizzlies at +3000.
The best value bet right now may be the Heat at +1200. Miami has the best record in the East and has held its own against the rest of the conference’s best. The Heat are a combined 5-1 against Brooklyn, Chicago and Milwaukee, and they’re one of eight teams to beat Phoenix this season.