NBA Betting: Lockout Update and NBA Futures
by Bodog Sportsbook | Sep 12 2011
September can be a magical time for sports bettors. The NFL and college football are getting underway. Baseball is staging its pennant races in advance of the playoffs. NASCAR is beginning its Chase. The NHL and NBA are getting set for training camps.
Whoops, scratch that last one. The 2011/12 NBA season still remains in doubt because of the work stoppage, with the owners not looking to bend and the players looking for their passports as they head overseas to play basketball – maybe for an entire year.
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Head over to the
Bodog Sportsbook for the latest list of
NBA championship futures.
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Players remain locked out by teamsIt's been three months since the NBA lockout began, and there still doesn't seem to be any urgency by either side to get a deal in place that allows the season to get underway on time. That doesn't mean there haven't been meetings between groups of various sizes, but the consensus believes that at least some games will be cancelled.
However, all the lockout talk, plus news of players going overseas and playing in various pickup leagues around the country, has managed to keep the NBA in the headlines despite the return of the all-powerful NFL and all the other sports betting options on the menu right now. That has kept a bit of interest in the
NBA futures at the
Bodog Sportsbook, where the Miami Heat sit as the current league title favorites.
Heat sit as NBA championship favoritesThe Heat are set as the top choice at 5/2 odds on the
NBA futures list a few months removed from falling in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks. Miami will have the same core cast of characters in place whenever the league finally gets back to business, and possibly have a little humility after failing to get the job done once.
The Los Angeles Lakers are next on that list at 11/2, followed by the Chicago Bulls at 17/1, and the Oklahoma City Thunder at 15/2. The defending champions are then at 17/2 to make it back-to-back titles, and the Boston Celtics round out the top tier of contenders for the NBA championship at 12/1.
Knicks, Magic, Spurs back in second tierThe New York Knicks have a little buzz behind them on the
NBA betting odds for the first time in a while thanks to the duo of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and they're at 20/1 on the current championship futures list. That puts them ahead of the Orlando Magic and the Portland Trail Blazers, who both sit at 25/1, as well as the not-getting-any-younger San Antonio Spurs, who are at 28/1 odds.
The Houston Rockets have lost Yao Ming to retirement, and they're at 50/1 odds to recover and win the NBA title next time around. That puts them tied with the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers, and behind the Memphis Grizzlies (30/1) and the Atlanta Hawks (40/1) on the current odds board at the
Bodog Sportsbook.
Tempted by the NBA longshots?
The Phoenix Suns are at 70/1 on the
NBA futures right now, with each of the Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Utah Jazz at 75/1 odds. That has them ahead of the group of the Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards, who are all back as 100/1 longshots on the current chart.
The biggest wagering opportunity, though, can be found in the foursome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Toronto Raptors, with each of those clubs sitting at 150/1 odds to win the 2012 NBA championship. The only shot those teams might have, though, is if the title is contested on the Xbox.
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Pro
basketball betting futures, find the latest updates today at the
Bodog Sportsbook.
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