NBA Playoffs Set, Odds Favor Suns vs. Bucks

The NBA regular season has come to an end. The Play-In Tournament will get started on Tuesday with teams looking to grab the No. 7 seed in their respective conferences. The top six teams in each conference will have a week to rest and get ready for the postseason, and that will help older teams and teams that limped across the finish line.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEEDS WITH NBA TITLE ODDS

• NO. 1 MIAMI HEAT +1000
• NO. 2 BOSTON CELTICS +900
• NO. 3 MILWAUKEE BUCKS +550
• NO. 4 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS +1400
• NO. 5 TORONTO RAPTORS +8000
• NO. 6 CHICAGO BULLS +10000
• NO. 7 BROOKLYN NETS +600
• NO. 8 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS +25000
• NO. 9 ATLANTA HAWKS +18000
• NO. 10 CHARLOTTE HORNETS +50000

Milwaukee is the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champions are the second favorite to win the NBA championship. The Bucks have arguably the easiest first-round matchup in the East as Chicago has completely fallen off and does not play good defense. Giannis Antetokounmpo could legitimately average 35-10-10 in this series and set up a potential second round showdown with Brooklyn.

The Nets finished the regular season at 44-38 and will have to play their way into the playoffs. Brooklyn will need to win one of two games to make the postseason, and the Nets will be favored over the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics. However, this team has struggled on the defensive side of the ball.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEEDS WITH NBA TITLE ODDS

• NO. 1 PHOENIX SUNS +260
• NO. 2 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES +1300
• NO. 3 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS +850
• NO. 4 DALLAS MAVERICKS +3000
• NO. 5 UTAH JAZZ +2500
• NO. 6 DENVER NUGGETS +3000
• NO. 7 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES +11000
• NO. 8 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS +3500
• NO. 9 NEW ORLEANS PELICANS +50000
• NO. 10 SAN ANTONIO SPURS +100000

Phoenix has been the team to beat according to the NBA futures odds for over a month. The Suns have had the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference locked up for a few weeks, so the road to the title goes through the Valley of the Sun. All the other major contenders are dealing with injuries to at least one of their stars too, so everything seems to be falling into place for Phoenix.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Dallas after the Mavericks nearly ran down Golden State for the No. 3 seed. They went 36-12 over their last 48 games, but their playoff hopes rest on the calf of Luka Doncic. He suffered a calf strain in the final game of the season, and the average time lost for a calf strain was 16 days per Jeff Stotts.

ODDS TO WIN NBA FINALS MVP

• DEVIN BOOKER +550
• GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO +600
• CHRIS PAUL +650
• KEVIN DURANT +900
• STEPH CURRY +1100
• JA MORANT +1400
• KYRIE IRVING +1500
• JOEL EMBIID +1500
• JAYSON TATUM +1500
• JIMMY BUTLER +1800

Phoenix has two of the three favorites to be named NBA Finals MVP. Devin Booker and Chris Paul have been the best backcourt in the NBA this season, and their crunch-time stats are out of this world. Booker and Paul were the two favorites for Phoenix in last year’s NBA Finals, and it’s unlikely to see another Suns player win the honor if the team wins its first title.

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player on Milwaukee that can win this award. Antetokounmpo was incredible against Phoenix last year, and he took his game to another level in the postseason. Everything runs through Antetokounmpo, and he has game changing defense too.

Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant is the only other player with odds of under 10-1 to win this award. Durant is arguably the best player in the league, and he nearly led Brooklyn past Milwaukee in Game 7 last year. He can take over for long stretches and was incredible in Golden State’s last two titles.