Odds Makers Continue to Like Golden State to Win 2019 NBA Title
Scott Morris | September 14, 2018
With the 2018-19 NBA regular season set to tip off on October 16, odds makers have readjusted the futures for the 2019 NBA title and to no one’s surprise the Golden State Warriors remain the overwhelming favorite to win a third straight NBA championship.
The Warriors on several sportsbooks sit atop the futures board at -200. A distant second are the Boston Celtics at +500, followed by the Houston Rockets at +850, the Los Angeles Lakers at +1000 and the Toronto Raptors at +1400 to round out the top five best odds on the board.
Top Three
The Warriors, as any NBA fan knows, have won three of the last four NBA titles and last season with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson & Company easily disposed of the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight during the finals. Shortly after winning the title, the Warriors signed big man Demarcus Cousins and that solidified their position at the top of the futures board.
The Boston Celtics have taken the top spot to win the Eastern Conference thanks to a projected starting five of Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown. Without Hayward for the entire season and minus Irving down the stretch, the Celtics came up one win short of playing in the NBA Finals.
Although the Celtics are considered the team that could best match up against the Warriors in a best of seven NBA finals, the one doubt the team is facing is injuries. Hayward will be coming off a season-long injury to his ankle and Irving, although considered one of the league’s best players, has never played a complete 82-game regular season.
While odds makers consider the Los Angeles Lakers the second best team in the West thanks to the acquisition of LeBron James, several basketball pundits have their doubts.
The Lakers finished last season 12 games under .500 and return many of the same players with the addition of JaVale McGee, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and the league’s best player Mr. James.
One doubt on the minds of many basketball pundits is will the young talents of last season like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma mesh with the veterans to put together a team capable of staying with and beating the Warriors.
The Lakers are expected to be tough team to stop on the offensive end, but defensively could be dominated down low, especially if the team goes to a smaller lineup that would include all of the best players.
Best Value on the Board: Boston Celtics at +500
Top Longshot: Oklahoma City Thunder at +3000
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