The NBA is rapidly closing in on the halfway point of the regular season with this year’s All-Star Game set for Sunday, March 7.
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Over the past six seasons, the team favored to win that year’s NBA title at the halfway point cashed in on that bet four times. LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors in 2018 were the only two exceptions.
Lakers Favored to Repeat as Champions
That adds even more value to the Los Angeles Lakers repeating as world champions this season as +270 favorites on the recently updated NBA futures board.
With James once again playing at a high level and Anthony Davis in excellent playing form as well, it would make sense to take advantage of those +270 odds before they start to go down even more.
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Are the Nets the Best Team in the East?
Waiting in the wings as a potential upset special is the Brooklyn Nets as +325 second-favorites on the 2021 NBA Championship futures board. This team has been a year in the making with Kevin Durant on the mend last season.
He is joined by Kyrie Irving and James Harden to form a new Big Three in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn’s overall depth is impressive to say the least with Joe Harris, Jeff Green and DeAndre Jordan in supporting roles.
It has taken some time for this team to gel but it is heading into the All-Star break with a full head of steam. The Nets have a straight-up six-game winning streak with five games to go before the close of the first half.
At 20-12 through 32 games of a 72-game season, Brooklyn is just a half game in back of the surprising Philadelphia 76ers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Given the addition of Harden through a trade with Houston in mid-January, the Nets are listed as +125 favorite to win the East this season.
Don’t Count the Clippers Out
Third on the board to win the 2021 NBA title is the Los Angeles Clippers at +275. This is no big surprise given the fact that they have been the second-best NBA team in Los Angeles the past two seasons.
Led by Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers have matched the Lakers at 22-10 through each team’s first 32 games. The dream matchup in last season’s Western Conference Finals never materialized with the Clippers’ stunning 4-3 series loss to Denver in the conference semifinals.
The Lakers betting odds to win the West again are +140 with the Clippers set as +275 second- favorites.
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Rounding out the Top 5 contending teams on the NBA futures board are the Utah Jazz at +750 betting odds followed by the Milwaukee Bucks at +800.
The Jazz currently have the best record in the NBA at 25-6 to open a 3½-game lead over both LA teams. Utah has proven it belongs in this conversation through its first-half play. Yet, when push comes to shove in the postseason, I am not sure the Jazz have what it takes to eliminate either of the two teams ahead of them on the list as +400 third-favorites to win the West.
The Bucks had been the perennial favorite to win the East behind superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo the past few seasons. The combination of coming up short two years in a row during the playoffs with the star power in Brooklyn drops Milwaukee to the second position to win the East this season at +350 odds.
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