Which are the favored teams to win the NBA Eastern Conference?
The NBA Playoffs are underway. It seems like the competition in the Eastern Conference has never been closer as at least 4 teams have equal chances of making it to the NBA Finals.
The Miami Heat are the top seed in the conference and are facing the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round who came through the play-in tournament. The Heat dominated Game 1 of the series winning by 115-91 as Duncan Robinson hit eight three-pointers to lead the Heat with 27 points. Coach Eric Spoelstra is doing a great job with the team despite having issues with the top star Jimmy Butler. The Heat play very well on both sides of the floor and have a high shooting percentage which seems good enough to have a chance to get back to the NBA Finals where they lost two years ago to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Boston Celtics were the best team in the league after the All-Star break and managed to get to the second seed in the East. Ime Udoka’s team is the best defensive team in the league but will have a tough job in the opening round against the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics won the opening game of the series with Jayson Tatum’s game-winner at the buzzer. Anyway, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are players with championship rings on their resumes and this will probably be a long series.
The defending champions Milwaukee Bucks had ups and down during the regular season but they seem 100% ready for the Playoffs. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having another amazing season and is among the three finalists to win the MVP award. The Bucks have won Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls in a tough game by 93-86. The Bulls came back to the Playoffs for the first time in 5 years and they definitely stand a chance against the Bucks.
The Philadelphia 76ers proved that they are for real this season, dominating the Toronto Raptors in the first two games of the series. Joel Embiid and James Harden haven’t played much together but they are definitely one of the best duos in the league. What makes the Sixers really dangerous is that the rest of the roster is playing on a high level every night. Tobias Harris is constantly over 20 points and young Tyrese Maxey proved he is Playoff ready scoring 38 points in Game 1 against the Raptors.
Top favorites to win the Eastern Conference
The Milwaukee Bucks had many ups and downs during the regular season. Still, they are the top favorites to win the conference since they have the core of the last year’s championship tea with a couple of additions in role positions. The Greek Freak had a historic playoff performance last season leading his team to the first NBA championship in 50 years – and he did that with a hurt knee. Whoever wants to reach the NBA Finals this year will have to go through Milwaukee.
The Brooklyn Nets was the team that was literally inches away from eliminating the Bucks last season losing Game 7 of the second round in overtime at home. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn’t play much together during the regular season but now they are ready for another playoff run. The Nets did a great deal with Philadelphia adding a couple of good players in Seth Curry and Andre Drummond who will play major roles in the playoffs.
The team that stands in the Nets’ way in the first round of the playoffs is Boston Celtics. They are still a young squad with their starting center Robert Williams III being out with injury. Still, the way the Celtics play can take them deep in the playoffs. They are the best defensive team in the league allowing the least points and holding their opponents to the lowest percentages from both field goals and three-pointers.
The Philadelphia 76ers round up the Eastern Conference contenders. Joel Embiid is the leading scorer with over 30 points per game this season and with the addition of James Harden, the Sixers look really scary. They started strong against the Raptors winning the first two games by a double-digit margin.
Of course, the top seed in the conference Miami Heat has a squad that works perfectly together. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the best two-way duo in the league and can defeat any team in a seven-game series.
What are the current outright odds to win the Eastern Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks +210
- Boston Celtics +300
- Miami Heat +300
- Brooklyn Nets +550
- Philadelphia 76ers +650
- Toronto Raptors +5000
- Chicago Bulls +10000
- Atlanta Hawks +10000