Thunder 50-1 to Play in the NBA Finals

The seeding Schedule is set now it's time to take a look at the the Thunder's path to the NBA finals.

With all due respect to Han Solo ("Never tell me the odds"), the Oklahoma City Thunder are 50-1 to play in the NBA finals. Bet Online AG (BetOnline.ag) is releasing odds for the upcoming NBA restart, and if you're thinking 50-1 might be worth laying some money on, the Thunder are 80-1 to win the NBA championship. 

Oklahoma City is 6-10 vs. the teams they will play in the seeding games, including a combine 2-6 vs. the Lakers, Nuggets, Heat, Clippers. Before you panic about the Thunder losing their chance to sneak in as the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they'll get ample opportunities to have the upper hand on those that pose a severe threat. 

Right out of the gate, the Thunder gets a crack at the Jazz. The season series is tied at one, and the winner would get the fourth seed in the Western Conference in case of a tie. The last time these two teams actually played Dennis Schroder scored 27 in a 104-90 win for the Thunder back in December. 

Updated 2020 Western Conference championship odds per @betonline_ag:

LAL - 5/4
LAC - 2/1
HOU - 13/2
DEN - 15/1
DAL - 20/1
UTA - 22/1
NOP - 50/1
OKC - 50/1
POR - 66/1
MEM - 100/1
SAS - 300/1
SAC - 500/1
PHX - 750/1

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 27, 2020

The Thunder will be a bit of a disadvantage with this being their first game of the reboot, the Jazz on the hand will have played two days earlier against the Pelicans. Still, the Jazz lost Bojan Bogdanovic for the season, and there is the tricky relationship between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell that could affect team chemistry. 

Predicting outcomes of these games is like throwing darts at a board in the dark, but if we go by the way Oklahoma City and Utah are playing before the break, the Thunder were rolling at 8-2 in their last 10 while the Jazz were just 5-5. For entertainment purposes, we like the Thunder. 

Basketball, we've missed you.#ThunderUp | #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/17Z2sFcdtH

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 27, 2020

There are also three no excuse games on the schedule with sub.500 teams, Phoenix, the Wizards, and Memphis. The Thunder split the season series with the Grizzlies, went 2-0 vs. the Suns, and lost to the Wizards in the second game of the season.

That 97-85 loss to Washington came during a 1-4 start, Oklahoma City is an entirely different team from the beginning of the season. If the Thunder can win all three of those matchups and find a way to even 2-3 with Utah, the Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, and Heat, that will give them a 5-3 mark in the seeding games and 43-27 record overall. 

The Rockets have a slightly tougher road with there opponents winning percentage at 58.7 (Oklahoma City 58.0) while the Mavericks and Jazz 55.6 and 55.5, respectively. On the radio, I am known for making god- awful predictions, so I'll just say buckle up; it's time for basketball.   

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