With the NBA season set to “retip-off” at the end of the month, I thought I’d take a look at some of the odds for some of these teams to see if there were any darkhorse candidates to take home the O’Brien Trophy. This year, more than any other year in recent memory, I truly believe any of the teams set to play out the season has a shot to make a deep playoff run. Well, every team except the Wizards that is.
All the odds I’m using are from BUSR.com as of 7/18/2020.
Boston Celtics +1300
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen the season paused back in March, the Celtics were the third-best team in the East at 43-and-21, behind only the Bucks and the defending champion Raptors. Their young — and underrated — star, Jason Tatum, was averaging 23.6 ppg for the season. However, from February 1st thru their last game on March 10th, he was averaging over 29 ppg. He is a budding superstar and might be the best player in the East not named Giannis Antetokounmpo (excluding Kevin Durant, who isn’t healthy).
The Celtics are not afraid of the Raptors or the Bucks, having a winning record against them this season. And, if they were to make it to the NBA Finals and meet one of the favored L.A. teams, they already have the experience facing LeBron James after forcing his Cavaliers to seven games a few short seasons ago. They are also familiar with Kawhi Leonard having seen him last year in his one year stint in Toronto.
Just being familiar with James and Leonard won’t be enough to beat them, but if you’re looking for a dark horse pick to take the Championship, especially in a weird season where anything can happen, Celtics would be my bet.
Houston Rockets +1300
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Rockets will only go as far as James Harden and Russell Westbrook can take them, and in a weird way, this long hiatus favors them. If the season had never “paused”, the way the Rockets rely so heavily on their two stars, both Harden and Westbrook would have been worn down from a long grueling season, and likely would have run out of gas in the playoffs against the stiff competition in the West.
However, with this long break, it will be a full-on sprint from here to the Finals. Both James and Westbrook can go balls-to-the-wall and play at their breakneck run-and-gun style. Assuming both can stay healthy, this tandem can beat anyone. Westbrook already being confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 puts a damper on them staying healthy, but if he makes a quick recovery and no one else on the Rockets contracts the virus, this is one team I would not want to face in a seven-game series.
New Orleans Pelicans +8000
Embed from Getty ImagesOkay, this one is a long-shot and has a bit of homerism involved. Yes, I’m a Pelicans fan. And, yes, they are a long-shot to even make the playoffs to begin with, but hear me out…
- The “bubble” is a neutral site and there won’t be any fans. Home-court advantage goes out the window.
- The NBA wants Zion Williamson to be the “next big thing”. I don’t buy into conspiracy theories, but if Williamson got a few extra calls in critical moments, I wouldn’t be surprised.
- This young team just doesn’t know any better and they have a revenge mentality. At least three of the players were traded away by the Lakers to get Anthony Davis last offseason — they would love to be the team to knock the Lakers out. They have a chip on their shoulders and play at a breakneck speed that can be taxing on teams not accustomed to their pace.
I know it’s not much to go on, and yes, I may be dreaming. But, hell, I’ll throw $25-50 on them winning it all just for shits-and-giggles. At +8000 odds, a $25 bet could win me $2,000. I’m going to be rooting for them anyway, might as well get paid for it if they pull off the miracle.
Thank you for reading. If you want to place a bet on one of these teams, or maybe you want to bet on one of the favorites, join me at BUSR.com and get up to a $500 welcome bonus by clicking here.
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