Eastern Conference poised to take down Warriors
With the 2019 NBA playoffs underway, there could be a unique opportunity to wager against the Golden State Warriors taking down another NBA title. In sports books all over the world, the Warriors are currently favored to go back-to-back-to-back at odds of around -225. That’s the equivalent of betting $225 to win $100. In past years, those odds might have been a bargain. However, this is 2019 and something is amiss with these Golden State Warriors.
If you are a sports bettor looking for the best way of converting your free bets to cash, that opportunity might be looking you straight in the eye. Of course, you’ll need to pay attention to the terms and conditions of your free bet promotions. Where permitted, you might want to consider betting on an Eastern Conference team at an attractive price to take down the Warriors.
In an effort to handicap the likelihood of a Warriors repeat, let’s consider the following criteria:
Homecourt Advantage: In past years, the Warriors entered the playoffs with the best record in the NBA, assuring them of homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. While they have the best record (57-25) in the Western Conference, they sit third in the NBA behind Eastern Conference foes Milwaukee Bucks (60-22) and the Toronto Raptors (58-24). With a road record of 27-14, the Warriors are no shoe-in to win big games away from the confines of home against really good home teams. Milwaukee was 33-8 at home and Toronto went 32-9.
Head-to-Head Versus Eastern Conference Leaders: During the regular season, the Warriors split (1-1) against the Bucks. It’s worth noting both teams won on the road, both games by blowout totals. The waters get a little deeper for the Warriors against Toronto, a team that went 2-0 against them on the regular season, including a blowout win in Toronto.
Team Chemistry - Both Milwaukee and Toronto have highly coherent teams. They play within themselves and play very good team basketball on both ends of the court. There’s something not quite right about the Warriors. The team is loaded with All-Stars. They have two of the top four scorers in the league. They also face uncertainty about the future. Of course, they are professional basketball players and surely realize the future is now as it pertains to winning another championship. They are also a group of human beings who face the reality two big stars (Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson) becoming free agents when the season is over. Durant seems none too pleased with his teammates and Thompson might well feel slighted over his accomplishments for the team. Take this insecurity about the future and add it to nagging injuries, personality conflicts and a lack of depth, you have a formula for a team ready to fall.
Taking everything into consideration, do the lines on the Bucks (+650) and Raptors (+950) seem a bit inflated? Is it possible a smart bettor can wager on the best team and still get tremendous value? The answer to both questions is an emphatic yes. The bet betting option is to play both teams to win the NBA title.
