The NBA preseason is underway and the regular season is almost here. Greg Ehrenberg digs into his favorite NBA champion futures, NBA best bets and other interesting NBA betting picks heading into the 2020-21 season.
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NBA Odds + Betting Picks | NBA Champion Futures + Players Awards Picks
NBA Betting Pick: Milwaukee Bucks To Win the NBA Championship +550
The Lakers are the favorites to win the title, and rightfully so. Not only did they win last season, they made improvements in the offseason. I love that the Lakers brought in Dennis Schroder to bolster their backup point guard spot. The problem is that I am not willing to lay +250 on the Lakers to win. The odds aren’t long enough for me to consider, even though LeBron James appears ageless and I think injury concerns with Anthony Davis are overblown.
The Bucks finished with the best record in the regular season last year and looked like a real contender before falling apart in the playoffs. There are several reasons to think they should be improved in the 2020-21 season. I hope that coach Mike Budenholzer finally learned his lesson and is willing to give his star players extended minutes in the playoffs, something he was hesitant to do a year ago. Khris Middleton finally pushed for 40 minutes once the Bucks were facing elimination, but it was too late.
If Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t get hurt in the series against the Heat and if the starters played around 40 minutes, I still think that was the Bucks’ series to win. With the addition of Jrue Holiday and the potential for more playoff minutes, I am on the Bucks this season, while the public is getting off the team. This is my favorite of the available NBA champion futures.
NBA Betting Pick: Philadelphia 76ers To Win the Eastern Conference +850
Addition by subtraction — the 76ers shipped out talented players like Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the offseason but brought in better fits. By acquiring shooting in the form of Seth Curry and Danny Green, Philadelphia is giving the duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid a better chance to succeed. This is a really strong one-two punch, but the fit between these stars will remain a question until they prove otherwise. The on-court chemistry hasn’t always looked ideal. The Sixers are clearly hoping that this can be chalked up to the previous lack of perimeter shooting around Simmons and Embiid. With more floor spacing, I think we could see the best version of the 76ers yet. I am also accounting for general manager Daryl Morey being one of the sharpest minds in the NBA; I trust he will make more moves to improve Philadelphia as the season progresses.
NBA Betting Pick: Atlanta Hawks -122 To Make the Playoffs
I don’t just like the Hawks’ roster heading into the season — I love it. This is one of the most fun young teams in the NBA, and they are in position to take a big step forward. Trae Young is an established star, and Atlanta added a lot of talent and depth around him. Not only did the Hawks acquire Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic in the offseason, we can’t forget they added Clint Capela at last season’s trade deadline. Capela is yet to make his regular season debut with the team. Playing in a weak Eastern Conference, I think the Hawks are very likely to end up making the playoffs this season.
The locks to make the playoffs in the East are the Nets, Celtics, 76ers, Raptors, Bucks and Heat, leaving two playoff spots up for grabs. I find it unlikely that two other teams will finish higher than Atlanta in the standings. At the very least, Atlanta should make the play-in tournament as a favorite.
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