Updated NBA Championship Odds – May 14 Edition

The Golden State Warriors may not have home-court advantage in their Western Conference finals matchup against the Houston Rockets, but they’re still the NBA Championship Odds favorite, at least in the eyes of oddsmakers everywhere. If you’re looking to cash in on an NBA Future Odds wager to win it all this postseason and you’re in need of a bit of assistance in making your pick on one of the final four teams remaining in the postseason, then consider your ticket punched! With the Western Conference Finals set to get underway on Monday night and the Eastern Conference Finals set to head to Game 2, now is a perfect time for me to offer up my pick on the team that is offering the most value against their respective NBA championship future odds.

Updated NBA Championship Odds – May 14 Edition

The 👑 has many memorable playoff performances. Sunday’s was not one of them. pic.twitter.com/0BabRYq7Uj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 14 de mayo de 2018

Golden State Warriors

• NBA Championship Odds: 5/8

Right now, the Warriors head into the conference finals looking every bit the part of defending champs and prohibitive favorites. The Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games and posted a trio of double-digit wins in the series before duplicating that feat in the second round against the New Orleans Pelicans. Along the way, the Dubs racked up a trio of 20-point-plus wins and got superstar point guard Steph Curry back after a five-week absence due to a knee sprain. Golden State ranks first across the board offensively in scoring, field goal shooting, three-point shooting and free throw shooting and oh yeah, they’ve still got a quartet of all-stars that only they can call upon. Defensively, the Warriors ranked third in field goal shooting percentage (44.7%) and again, they look extremely focused ever since ‘the real’ season started.

Houston Rockets

• NBA Championship Odds: 5/2

  Houston smacked Minnesota in five games in the first round and posted three double-digit wins along the way. James Harden and company then dispatched a feisty Utah Jazz team in five games in the second round, but they lost Game 2 at home before rebounding to win the final three games of the series. The Rockets also beat the Warriors in two of their three regular-season meetings this season while finishing second in the league in scoring despite ranking just 15th in field goal percentage shooting (46.0%) and 16th in three-point percentage shooting (36.2 %). Houston still relies on a lot of isolation basketball to get the job done and I’m not sure that’s the way to beat the warriors, but I guess we’ll find out in short order.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• NBA Championship Odds: 13/2

Cleveland really struggled to get past Indiana in seven difficult games in the first round and needed a handful of 40-point games from LeBron James in order to get past Victor Oladipo and company. The Cavs had a much easier time in dispatching the ‘no heart’ Toronto Raptors in a not-so-stunning sweep of the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. However, if you saw Cleveland’s humbling 108-83 Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals this past weekend, then you should know that the Cavs have no chance whatsoever of upsetting whichever team wins the Western Conference if they even get past Boston. While the Cavaliers finished the regular season ranked fifth in scoring (110.9 ppg), an identical fifth in field goal shooting percentage (47.6%) they were also damned ugly defensively in finishing the regular season ranked 26th in points allowed (106.9 ppg), 28th in field goal shooting defense (47.4%) and 22nd against the three-point shot (36.8 %). Yes, LeBron James is as good as ever and Kevin Love is still a very good player as well. However, outside of those two, Cleveland’s roster just isn’t very scary. I’m going to say, save your money on the Cavs right now.

Boston Celtics

• NBA Championship Odds: 30/1

Right about now, I’m like most basketball observers. There’s just not much I’d put past the overachieving Celtics! First, Boston dispatched the feisty Milwaukee Bucks and the Greek Freak in seven difficult games. Then, Boston pounced on the Philadelphia 76ers in five stunning games in the second round despite being clear-cut underdogs going into that series against a Sixers team that had won 21 of their previous 22 games. Now, Boston is off to a 1-0 lead in the conference finals against Cleveland after blitzing the Cavs from the outset. Along the way, Boston has found out they’ve got a star in point guard ‘Scary’ Terry Rozier, arguably the best rookie in the league in unflappable 19-year-old forward Jayson Tatum and another, if slightly less heralded star in the making in second-year swingman Jaylen Brown. The C’s are getting all sorts of fantastic contributions from pretty much everyone on their roster and they have what is arguably the best coach in the game today in Brad Stevens. Boston is also the best defensive team remaining in the playoffs and has absolutely no fear of anyone, LeBron James included. Oh, and they’re beating people without their two best players in all-stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Winning it all might be a bit of a stretch right now, but reaching the finals is certainly not out of the question!

Last 10 NBA Champions

• 2017: Golden State Warriors
• 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2015: Golden State Warriors
• 2014: San Antonio Spurs
• 2013: Miami Heat
• 2012: Miami Heat
• 2011: Dallas Mavericks
• 2010: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
• 2008: Boston Celtics