Steve Starr
- See the championship odds for the nine remaining NBA playoff teams
- The Clippers (+240) and Lakers (+250) are still favored to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy
- Giannis’ Bucks (+425) are slight favorites over the Celtics (+500) in the East despite being in a 1-0 series hole to the Heat (+1400)
While the Los Angeles Lakers await the winner of the Rockets/Thunder first-round series, the Toronto Raptors already find themselves in a 2-0 hole to the Celtics in Round 2.
With both the Eastern Conference series already started and the Western Conference match-ups yet to begin, we take a look at the updated odds for the nine teams still competing to win the NBA championship.
2020 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
| NBA Team | Odds at Betway |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +240 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | +250 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +425 |
| Boston Celtics | +500 |
| Miami Heat | +1400 |
| Houston Rockets | +1600 |
| Toronto Raptors | +2500 |
| Denver Nuggets | +2800 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | +6600 |
CLIPPERS AND LAKERS CRUISE
The Clippers (+240) found themselves locked in a 2-2 series with the Mavericks after Luka Doncic’s game-winning, three-point buzzer-beater in overtime of Game 4, but had no further problems dispatching of Dallas with Kristaps Porzingis on the shelf with yet another leg injury.
Doc Rivers’ club will now face a Nuggets (+2800) team that overcame a 3-1 series deficit to the Utah Jazz. Kawhi Leonard has scored 30 points in five straight games, but Paul George will have to avoid another ugly slump (he shot a combined 10-for-47 in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the Mavs series) for LA to advance.
A new career-high for @kawhileonard.
Five straight playoff games with at least 30 points. pic.twitter.com/jc4AVOjjy0
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) August 30, 2020
Denver is getting star performances out of Canadian Jamal Murray, who averaged 31.6 points per game in the Utah series, but the Clippers should take care of business in 6 games.
Meanwhile, LeBron James and the Lakers will face the winner of tonight’s Game 7 between Houston (+1600) and Oklahoma City (+6600). While the Rockets’ small-ball lineup could theoretically cause problems for the Purple & Gold, the fact that they’re even playing Game 7 against OKC suggests they have no chance at reaching the Western Conference Finals.
CELTICS AND HEAT START STRONG
While many prominent analysts like Charles Barkley were on the Raptors’ (+2500) bandwagon this year, they all seemed to forget the team was missing Kawhi Leonard. Now in a 2-0 hole to the Celtics (+500), Toronto’s coaching and experience means they can’t be counted out, but the defending champs’ time in the bubble looks to be drawing to a close.
Boston would be happy to avoid a Bucks team that eliminated them in the second round of the 2019 playoffs in five games, and that possibility is definitely on the table after the Heat torched the Bucks 115-104 in Game 1.
34 PTS, 8 RBS, 6 AST@jaytatum0 was a steady force in our Game 2 win ☘️ #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/u97RpA3X9R
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 2, 2020
We predicted Miami would upset Milwaukee en route to the Eastern Conference Finals, but there’s still much work to be done, of course. After losing Game 1 of their first-round series to the Magic, Giannis and company swept the next four games.
It won’t be as easy to beat the Heat, however, especially with Jimmy Butler’s strained shoulder no longer a concern. Butler scored a playoff career-high 40 points in Game 1, and Adebayo added 12 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.
Now 3-1 versus the Bucks this season, at this point it would be surprisingly if Miami didn’t push Milwaukee to the limit.
