Jazz In-Season Tournament Odds Revealed

So you’re saying there’s a chance…..

DraftKings just dropped the Utah Jazz’s odds to win the first-ever in-season tournament. The popular online bookie is giving Utah a 40-1 shot of taking home the NBA Cup. Utah was given a difficult draw by being put in Group B, along with the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Jazz will play the four teams in their group with the goal of advancing to the knockout round when the tournament becomes a single-elimination affair. The final four teams will travel to Las Vegas to compete for a grand prize of $500,000.

The NBA is trying new ways to keep the players and fans more engaged during the regular season. It will be interesting to see if teams will play with a regular season rotation or shorten it up like a playoff game.

According to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, some wrinkles will be thrown in to give the tournament a different feel than a regular season game.

“The players will be wearing different uniforms,” Silver said back in April. “Maybe the court will look different. You’ll know it’s not just a regular-season game. Taking a page out of European Soccer where they play for multiple cups throughout the season.”

Utah will have an uphill battle due to getting a tough draw, but it’s still within the realm of possibility to go deep into the tournament because of the single elimination element that’s been added.

Much like the NCAA tournament, there should be a team or two that could unexpectedly go deeper than expected. The cream usually rises to the top in a seven-game series, but all bets are off in a single elimination format.

Interestingly, the Boston Celtics are currently the favorite followed by the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Suns. Only six teams have worse odds than the Jazz, led by the Detroit Pistons at 75-1.

Utah’s first group game will be on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 10.

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