Dee Friedman
The NBA returns from its All-Star hiatus on Thursday. The first part of the year was full of surprises, from the upstart Hawks rolling to a 43-11 record to the disappointing Nuggets sitting 13 games below .500.
Each team has roughly 30 games left and there are numerous pressing questions still to be answered, questions like:
Is Atlanta a legitimate title contender? Will LeBron win a fifth MVP? Which disappointing team will be the next to part ways with its head coach?
Since no one wants to wait weeks and/or months for the answers to those captivating queries, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to look inside our Magic 8 Ball and set the odds on all of the above and, oh, so much more.
Odds to win the 2015 NBA Title:
Golden State: 7-2
Cleveland: 4-1
San Antonio: 6-1
Atlanta: 7-1
Chicago: 8-1
Oklahoma City: 9-1
Memphis: 11-1
Dallas: 14-1
LA Clippers: 20-1
Houston: 22-1
Toronto: 26-1
Portland: 28-1
Washington: 35-1
Milwaukee: 140-1
Miami: 150-1
Phoenix: 165-1
New Orleans: 200-1
Charlotte: 325-1
Detroit: 325-1
Indiana: 350-1
Brooklyn: 500-1
Denver: 600-1
Utah: 650-1
Boston: 1000-1
Sacramento: 1500-1
Orlando: 5000-1
LA Lakers: 6000-1
Minnesota: 10000-1
New York: 10000-1
Philadelphia: 10000-1
Odds to win NBA MVP:
Stephen Curry (Golden State): 2-3
James Harden (Houston): 3-1
LeBron James (Cleveland): 7-2
Anthony Davis (New Orleans): 10-1
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City): 15-1
Odds to win NBA Coach of the Year:
Mike Budenholzer (Atlanta): 3-2
Steve Kerr (Golden State): 3-2
David Joerger (Memphis): 15-1
Dwane Casey (Toronto): 15-1
David Blatt (Cleveland): 25-1
Odds to win Rookie of the Year:
Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota): 1-15
Nikola Mirotic (Chicago): 5-1
Efrid Peyton (Orlando): 12-1
Jusuf Nurkic (Denver): 15-1
KJ McDaniels (Philadelphia): 15-1
Odds to be the next coach fired:
Brian Shaw (Denver): 7-2
Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City): 5-1
Byron Scott (LA Lakers): 15-2
Monty Williams (New Orleans): 18-1
David Blatt (Cleveland): 25-1
Over/under on wins for George Karl with the Sacramento Kings for rest of season: 12.5
Odds to win the NBA Scoring Title:
James Harden (Houston): 2-3
LeBron James (Cleveland): 2-1
Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City): 6-1
Anthony Davis (New Orleans): 10-1
Carmelo Anthony (New York): 10-1
Odds that the following players retire after the 2014-15 season:
Kevin Garnett (Brooklyn): 1-1
Jason Terry (Houston): 1-1
Paul Pierce (Washington): 3-2
Manu Ginobili (San Antonio): 2-1
Tony Parker (San Antonio): 5-2
Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers): 3-1
Tim Duncan (San Antonio): 3-1
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas): 3-1
Amare Stoudemire (Free Agent): 5-1
Dwyane Wade (Miami): 5-1
LeBron James (Cleveland): 20-1
Keep an eye on our top dogs as the season progresses. Come back and lambaste us in the comments if we end up being off; but don’t forget to shower us with praise if (when) we’re not!
(Photo credit: By Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo may appear cropped.)
