NBA Team Futures Bets You Should Make Right Now
There are a number of different ways we can sate our betting appetite while the NBA is on break. Betting on college basketball is great, but this is the time of year to look at NBA season futures, for both teams and players. This article will focus on team futures. Most teams only have about 28 games remaining, so we have a pretty good idea of who these teams really are and what scenarios could play out down the stretch.
I look at future bets as investments that don't necessarily have to win to be profitable. Last season before the playoffs started, I put a few dollars on the Trail Blazers to win the Western Conference. I knew the Blazers had almost no chance of actually winning the West, but all I really needed them to do was to get to the conference finals so I could load up on the Warriors. Yeah, the future itself may have lost, but as long as I was heavy on the dubs I was going to turn a profit.
Here is a glance at what I think can be some profitable NBA team futures.
To Win NBA Championship: Milwaukee Bucks +275
If you haven't looked at the NBA futures market recently you may be surprised to see that the Bucks, not the Lakers or Clippers, are the favorite to win the championship.
Milwaukee has been excellent this season and have a five-game lead over the Lakers for the best record in the NBA. The Bucks' plus/minus is +12, with the next closet team to them being the Lakers at +7.
Milwaukee won't be tested in the playoffs until they get to the Eastern Conference Finals and they'll have home-court advantage. The Bucks' playoff disappointment from last season has them focused on finishing the job this year.
Another reason why I like the Bucks this season is their potential final opponent. The Western Conference Finals will likely be the Lakers versus the Clippers. The stakes will be very high in that series, so I'm expecting a knockdown drag out seven-game series. The winner of that emotionally charged series will likely be spent, making it easier for the Bucks to knock them off.
To Win Eastern Conference: Toronto Raptors +650
Before you scratch your head and say how can the Raptors win the East and the Bucks win the championship, remember some of my futures are just investments that put me in a place to not lose. In this case, I just need the Raptors to get to the conference finals so I can load up on the Bucks.
I have to give a big shout out to Nick Nurse for the job he has done with this year's Raptors team. The Raptors have dealt with injuries to star players yet they just keep rolling.
So far this season, Toronto has had winning streaks of 15 games, seven games and five games. The depth of their roster is unreal, and even though they lost Kawhi Leonard, they are still easily the second-best team in the East.
Toronto is flying under the radar yet again this year. For example, the Raptors are -143 to win the Atlantic Division, they have a 1.5-game lead over the Celtics and a six-game lead over the 76ers. They've done all this with their best players Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam both missing an extended period of time.
To Win Northwest Division: Utah Jazz +120
The race for the Northwest Division title will be fun to watch over the second half of the NBA season, as the Jazz and Nuggets battle for the crown. The Nuggets currently have a 1.5-game lead over the Jazz and have won both head-to-head games by a combined nine points.
There are a few reasons why I like the Jazz to come out on top in this tight race. For starters, Utah has been pretty healthy so far this season. Mike Conley has been in and out of the lineup, but other than that their core group has been out there just about every night. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have had a ton of injury concerns. Mason Plumlee could be out for the next month, Michael Porter and Will Barton are both currently banged up and Gary Harris and Jamal Murray have been in and out of the lineup.
The Nuggets have a tough road ahead in the second half of the season. In the month of March, Denver plays 16 games, nine against teams currently in the playoffs. From March 11-25, the Nuggets play seven of eight games on the road. They will face the likes of the Mavericks, Lakers, Thunder, Raptors and Heat, with the lone home game will be versus the Clippers. The Nuggets' opponents the rest of the way have a winning percentage of .517.
The Jazz and Nuggets play each other two more times before the regular season ends. They meet up April 5 in Denver and then close out the regular season in Utah. The Jazz should win that game and cash this future ticket that night.
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