The first quarter of the 2019-20 NBA season is in the books and we’re looking at the updated NBA Championship futures odds at BetMGM. We make our revised picks for who’ll be lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in early June.
2019-20 NBA Championship Favorites
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles Lakers (+325)
The Lakers, who were +550 favorites in the summer following the acquisition of PF Anthony Davis, have dropped even lower as they’ve raced out to a 24-5 start. They’re scoring 112.6 points per game while allowing just 104.1 and showing little sign of weakness. But, as we’ve seen with the Golden State Warriors this season and last, injuries can happen. I don’t like going all-in on one team this early and a $100 bet returns a profit of just $325. There’s too much season left.
Boston Celtics (+1800)
The Celtics have been battling injuries early to PGs Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and SF Gordon Hayward, and they’re still 19-7 and second in the Eastern Conference. They’re the top defensive team in the East with just 103.6 PPG allowed and they lost just one of their first 12 home games. They offer better than four times the odds of the conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks (+350) and are a much better play on the early futures odds.
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2019-20 NBA Championship Longshots
Dallas Mavericks (+2800)
The Mavericks were one of my picks in the summer at +4200 odds. A 19-9 start to the season in which they’re scoring 117.6 PPG with 108.8 PPG allowed, has dropped those odds considerably. SF Luka Doncic is an MVP frontrunner, but the team has stayed above water during his absence due to an ankle injury. Get these odds soon, as they’ll likely drop even lower upon his return.
Portland Trail Blazers (+6000)
Fifteen teams have higher odds than the Blazers to win the championship, but they’re as deep as I’m looking. Western Conference finalists a year ago, they’ve started 14-16, but still hold the eighth seed in the conference in late December. PF Carmelo Anthony has resurrected his career as the third piece of the offense behind Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. C Zach Collins and C Jusuf Nurkic will return from injury in the second half of the season and bolster the frontcourt for a potential playoff run.
While the NBA is controlled by the perennial favorites, the Trail Blazers are a nice lottery ticket with their odds only going down for the remainder of the season.
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