2015 NBA Eastern Conference Betting Preview
The Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference last season and NBA Picks has then with the best odds to take it this season. The Bulls, Hawks, and Heat may be in the mix, but can anybody in the East beat LeBron and the Cavs if Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are healthy? Odds makers don’t think so.
The Cavs (-250) made the finals last season with LeBron and that is about it with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving both injured. If they are healthy it would be a surprise if they did not easily win the Eastern Conference AND they finally signed Tristan Thomson, which was a distraction in the preseason.
Not only do the Cavs have the best odds in the East. But NBA Picks has them as the team with the best odds to win the NBA championship.
It is same old question for the Bulls (+800) in that can Derrick Rose stay healthy? Yeah, Chicago has a legit team with the likes of Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, and Joakim Noah, but if Rose is on the court and playing like his former MVP self they have a legit chance to unseat the Cavs for Eastern Conference supremacy.
What do the 2015 NBA Future Odds Predict
The Hawks (+1500) had the best record in the East last season and while the team had 4 All Stars last season, who are all still on the squad, they could not get past the shorthanded Cavs being swept in the Eastern Conference finals. Atlanta did ink Tiago Splitter and resigned Paul Millsap, but they are, pretty much, the same team as last season.
The Heat (+1500) are an intriguing team this season and while NBA Picks have them with the 4th best betting odds they may be the one team that can give Cavs trouble. They signed Dwayne Wade and Goran Dragic and they have a legit frontcourt with Luol Deng, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside. Wade and Bosh have to stay healthy and find a little fountain of youth and Dragic must run the team and score as well for Miami to get back to the promised land.
The Wizards (+1700) made the conference semis last season and they have a solid backcourt duo in John Wall and Bradley Beal and an underrated C in Marcin Gortat, but PF Nene is not a spring chicken any more and can’t stay healthy and the frontcourt is pretty thin.
Another dark horse, while a little bit of a reach, is the Pacers (+2500). They did lose C Roy Hibbert, but signed C Jordan Hill and they also inked scoring G Monta Ellis. If Paul George regains his superstar form, Ellis and Hill are productive, and they get some solid play from the FW position Indiana may be a surprise this season.
The Raptors (+2500) won the Atlantic Division last season, but were swept by the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. They do have DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but they have a thin frontcourt and they struggled on the defensive end of the court last season, which was their strong suit for a few seasons.
The other NBA Picks to win the East are long shots, but the conference is pretty open after the first few teams and in the playoffs anything can happen. Still, there is a reason every team after the Raptors has betting odds of +5000 or higher.
The season begins soon and as of October 23rd here are the betting odds for the teams to win the Western Conference. We also have the latest NBA Odds on our live betting lines page.
Cleveland Cavaliers -250
Chicago Bulls +800
Atlanta Hawks +1500
Miami Heat +1500
Washington Wizards +1700
Indiana Pacers +2500
Toronto Raptors +2500
Boston Celtics +5000
Detroit Pistons +9000
Milwaukee Bucks +2500
New York Knicks +10000
Orlando Magic +12000
Brooklyn Nets +15000
Charlotte Hornets +15000
Philadelphia 76ers +30000
