The trade deadline has passed and most teams have about 20 games left in the NBA regular season. There are a number of teams that have separated themselves as legit contenders, while other teams, such as the Brooklyn Nets, have decided to throw in the towel. The NBA hasn’t been this wide open in years.
We’ll take a look at a number of teams in contention and give the top 10 odds to win the 2022-2023 NBA Finals.
Suns Make Huge Leap After Trade For Kevin Durant
The Phoenix Suns were able to make a huge trade, acquiring Kevin Durant from the Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and a number of first-round picks. Durant was hurt at the time of the trade but has since returned to make his debut with the Suns. The trade made the Suns one of the favorites to win the NBA title.
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The difficult part is that the Suns are the four seed in the West and only a game clear of the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. The Suns will be looking to avoid a first-round date with the Warriors, however, there’s not much time for the Suns to climb up the standings.
Durant’s only played one game with Phoenix so far. They were able to beat the Hornets 105-91 but it remains to be seen how the trio of Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul will work in the long run. Because of the unknowns, the Suns aren’t the most convincing title bet especially when considering how oddsmakers are favoring them heavily at the moment.
The East Has a Number of Title Threats
The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers are far ahead of the rest of the field in the East. The odds reflect that, with FanDuel putting each of them in the top 6 while the next best east team is listed at 10th.
The Celtics are still the favorite to win it all but the Bucks have overtaken them as the one seed in the east by half a game in midst of a 16-game winning streak. An east finals showdown between these teams is sure to produce fireworks.
The 76ers have also had a good season and currently find themselves as the third seed in the east. The problem is they’ll likely be faced with a tough second-round matchup against either the Celtics or Bucks. The Sixers have gone 1-4 vs those two teams this year and have failed to make it out of the second round in the Joel Embiid era.
The Defending Champs Could Be Turning Things Around
The Golden State Warriors were one of the bigger disappointments of the year, having started the season 29-30. They’ve since won four games in a row and are now the fifth seed in the West. Steph Curry is still sidelined with an injury but when he returns the Warriors will be scary once again.
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The Warriors have the seventh-best odds to win this year’s NBA title, just behind the 76ers.
2022-2023 NBA Champion Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
The New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets are not on the top 10 list. The Knicks are playing great basketball, having won seven games in a row. Still, NY sportsbooks don’t seem to like Tom Thibodeau’s squad. FanDuel is giving the Knicks the 15th best odds to win it all, at +11000. The Nets are tied for 16th, at +16000.
The Denver Nuggets have the best record in the west by five games, yet they only have the fourth-best odds to win it all this year. Nikola Jokic is favored to win his third straight MVP award and Jamal Murray is having success after missing all of last season with a torn ACL.
Just after the Nuggets is the Clippers. The Clippers recently signed Russell Westbrook and have lost four straight with him in the lineup. With the fifth-best odds to win it all, it’s best to stay away from the Clippers at the moment.
There are plenty of contenders in the NBA this season, which means there’s plenty of value across the board. This year’s NBA Finals will take place starting on June 1st. The last possible game is set to be held on June 18th.
