Updated NBA Championship Odds – November 27th Edition

With the 2017-18 NBA regular season starting to pick up a bit of steam as we move into the sixth week of action, pro basketball lovers and betting buffs everywhere need to know who’s looking good as far as their respective 2018 NBA Championship odds. To that end, based on the latest odds to win the NBA title, I’m offering up an expert look at the prohibitive favorite, my ‘smart’ pick to win it all and my top longshot selection to bag this season championship hardware, so with a full slate of action getting underway tonight, let’s get started.

Updated NBA Championship Odds – November 27th Edition

The TOP DUNKS from around the Association during Week 6! https://t.co/oNYNUszKkC

— NBA (@NBA) 27 de noviembre de 2017

NBA – FINALS POSSIBLE MATCHUPS

The Favorite

• Team: Golden State Warriors
• NBA Championship Odds: -175
• Current Record: 15-5

The reigning champs (15-5 SU, 9-11 ATS) have won four (two straight) of their last five and seven of their last nine games overall. As usual, Golden State is up t its high-scoring ways as they lead the NBA in points per game (117.4 PPG) while also ranking first in field goal shooting percentage, (50.8%) and ranking second in three-point shooting percentage (39.5%) and second in free throw shooting percentage (82.3%). Last but not least, the Dubs rank a healthy seventh in rebounds per game (45.6 RPG). Steph Curry is putting up 26.0 points per game while Kevin Durant is averaging 24.7 per contest and Klay Thompson 20.2 per night. Draymond Green is still doing it all by averaging 9.8 points, 7.4 boards and 6.7 assists per night. Golden State is getting just over 6.0 points per game from Swaggy P, David West and Andre Iguodala, while fellow reserves Omri Casspi, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, JaVale McGee and starting center Zaza Pachulia continue to make their ‘normal contributions. While Golden State ranks just 18th in points allowed, they also rank a phenomenal first in field goal shooting defense (42.7%). In short, the champs look like…er, the champs, for the most part!

The Smart Pick

• Team: Boston Celtics
• NBA Championship Odds: +850
• Current Record: 18-3

I know LeBron James and Cleveland are first in points allowed (95.8 PPG), third in field goal shooting defense (43.5%) and an identical third in three-point shooting defense (32.5%). While Boston’s offensive numbers look kind of modest with the C’s ranking just 19th in scoring (103.6 ppg), 27th in field goal shooting percentage (43.8%), 16th in three-point shooting percentage (36.0%) and a modest 14th in free throw shooting percentage (77.6%), the Celtics clearly have some very good offensive options to go to. Starting with all-star point guard Kyrie ‘I’m Nobody’s Sidekick’ Irving (23.0 PPG) and moving on to high-flying second-year guard Jalen Brown (15.9 PPG) and rookie forward Jayson Tatum (13.9 PPG), the Celtics have several guys that can put the ball in the hole and are only going to get better with each and every passing game. Veteran center Al Horford (13.7 PPG) is playing the same solid, but not overly impressive basketball he did last season – until the playoff s started and he immediately took his game to another level and I suspect Boston’s other backups, like Terry Rozier, Marcus ‘I’m going to annoy the hell out of you’ Smart and veteran forward Marcus Morris (12.6 PPG) is only going to continue to improve as the season wears on. Last but not least, did I mention the C’s have the best coach in all basketball not named Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerr? Yeah, well, they do!

The Longshot

• Team: Houston Rockets
• NBA Championship Odds: +1200
• Current Records: 15-4

I said it last season and I’ll say it again this year. If there’s one team that Golden State should be worried about, it’s the Houston Rockets (15-4 SU, 11-8 ATS). I know Houston has found a way to integrate veteran point guard Chris Paul into the mix, even though he’s missed a big portion of the season, but really, if they never added CP3, who I suspect is going to pay huge dividends at some point this season, Houston looks quite formidable to me. After finishing second in last season’s MVP voting, James Harden is having another phenomenal campaign by averaging a stellar 31.4 points per game and equally stunning 9.8 assists per contest. Over his last 10 games alone, Harden has scored 35 points or more six times while dishing out at least 10 dimes in an identical six games. Young center Clint Capela is blossoming before our very eyes (12.9 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 67.1 FG%, 1.8 BPG) and Eric Gordon is averaging the ‘quietest’ 20.2 points per game in league history. Houston has just one loss in November (against Toronto) and has the look of a team that could beat anyone, Golden State included, especially since Chris Paul has only played in five games so far!