So far in this year’s NBA playoffs, there have been a few surprises.
The New York Knicks, despite finishing with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, were picked by some to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, yet they outlasted Joel Embiid’s crew in six games.
The defending world champion Denver Nuggets have trailed by a sizable margin in each of their seven playoff games so far, and they now trail the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2-0, in the Western Conference semifinals.
As a result, the Boston Celtics are big favorites to win the NBA title, followed by the Timberwolves, while the Knicks have risen to the fourth-highest odds and Denver has only the sixth-highest odds, according to BetMGM.
Check out the favorites to win this season’s NBA Championship, presented by @BetMGM & tune in to tonight's games on TNT! pic.twitter.com/CMPcCvN50I
— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2024
Boston had the league’s best record in the regular season at 64-18, and plenty of people felt they simply had the league’s most balanced team.
They finished second in defensive rating and first in offensive rating, and if the Nuggets don’t have the best starting five in basketball, Boston does.
The Timberwolves were the only team with a better defensive rating than the Celtics, and they have suffocated the Nuggets through two games.
The Nuggets only mustered 80 points in Game 2, and they appear to be flustered by Minnesota’s length up and down the roster.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have the third-highest odds to win it all, and they’re led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while also boasting rising stars in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
While the Celtics seem to be the clear favorites, they aren’t unbeatable, as they did suffer some inexcusable losses in the regular season, and thus the race for the NBA crown could turn out to be very interesting.
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