The NBA playoffs have nearly reached the Finals and Boston has punched its ticket to the next round after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
And bettors looking ahead to the championship round can now place their wagers down.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Celtics are considerable Finals favorites in potential matchups against the Mavericks and against the Wolves.
“The mentality of that team is, if they don’t win it, it’s going to be a bust season,” former Celtics guard Eddie House said Tuesday morning on “The Carton Show” in reference to Boston.
Let’s jump into the action, with odds from DraftKings as of May 29:
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WINNER:
Dallas Mavericks: -550 (bet $10 to win $11.82 total)
Minnesota Timberwolves: +425 (bet $10 to win $52.50 total)
Now, let’s check out the updated title odds.
CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS FOR 2023-24 NBA SEASON:
Boston Celtics: -225 (bet $10 to win $14.44 total)
Dallas Mavericks: +230 (bet $10 to win $33 total)
Minnesota Timberwolves: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
NBA FINALS ODDS:
Boston vs Minnesota: Celtics -225, Timberwolves +185
Boston vs. Dallas: Celtics -225, Mavericks +185
While the Celtics are favored over whichever team comes out of the West, this week, Colin Cowherd expressed doubt that Boston can actually hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, given what he deemed an easy path out East and the lack of a dominant superstar.
Boston is 12-2 in these playoffs and went 41-11 against the East in the regular season.
“They are very, very good, and very skilled, but they’re not great,” Cowherd said on “The Herd.” “And I don’t know how to make the Celtics go from very good to great. And that’s where it’s interesting. Jayson Tatum is their best player, but offensively, he mostly floats off the ball. He does not take the game over. He is not Luka [Doncic]. His personality is not alpha.
” … If you watch the Celtics play, on five different possessions, they could have five different Celtic players score. It would look fantastic, but it’s almost too collaborative.”
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