We have reached the Conference Finals stage of the NBA season, and we have a pair of great match-ups already underway. As expected, it is the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets battling it out for supremacy in the Western Conference, with the Rockets quickly discovering that dethroning the current champions is going to be no easy feat.
It is the LeBron James show once again in the Eastern Conference, but despite his heroics, the Cavaliers still find themselves 2-1 down to the Boston Celtics in that series. Both series look as though they could go long, but for now, let’s look at the current NBA Championship Odds for all 4 teams.
Updated NBA Championship Odds – May 21st Edition
The @warriors just passed Jordan’s Bulls for the longest home win streak in NBA postseason history. pic.twitter.com/MfR8ROJ5SK
— ESPN (@espn) 21 de mayo de 2018
Golden State Warriors
- NBA Championship Odds: -440
You don’t make it to the NBA Finals for three straight years without knowing how to get the job done in the postseason. The Warriors, the current champions, started this postseason run without the services of Stephen Curry, but that seemed to matter little, as they cruised through the opening two rounds.
When Curry did finally return, he looked a little rusty, but he was back at his best in a 35-point performance in a stunning 126-85 win over the Rockets in Game 3 of this series. That win put Golden State up 2-1, but perhaps more importantly, it solidified this team as the favorites to repeat as champions and win their 3rd title in 4 years.
Houston Rockets
- NBA Championship Odds: +550
The current NBA Championship odds would suggest that the bookies believe that the eventual winner is going to come out of the Western Conference. No real surprise there when you consider that you have the defending champions going against the team that posted the best regular season record in 2018.
The Houston Rockets made it through the opening two rounds without really breaking too much of a sweat. They were pounded in the opening game of this series but rebounded with a big win of their own on the road in Oakland. They are going to need to bounce back again after a hammering in Game 3. This is like a title fight between a pair of heavy hitters, so let’s not count out the Rockets just yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- NBA Championship Odds: +750
This is not the same Cavaliers team that made it to the NBA Finals in each of the last 3 years. They are having to really scrap to keep their championship hopes alive, needing 7 games to get past the Indiana Pacers in the opening round. This is a team where one man controls how far they go.
LeBron James has once again entered beast mode in the playoffs, with his best performance thus far arguably coming in Game 3 of this series. James controlled the game, draining 27 points to lead the Cavs to a 30-point victory in what was a must-win game. They will need more of the same if they are to get to their 4th consecutive NBA Finals.
Boston Celtics
- NBA Championship Odds: +800
The overall feeling was that this team had no shot at an NBA title without Kyrie Irving in the line-up, yet here they are with a 2-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Final. This is a team that is proving to be not reliant on a single player to get the job done.
Look at the offensive and defensive stats through these playoffs and you will not find a single Boston player in the top 5 in any of the major categories. It’s a total team effort that is paying big dividends, and if they can sneak Game 4 on the road in Cleveland, their odds to win may just get a little better.
