Boston Celtics +850 to win the Eastern Conference

This is possibly my favorite bet out there right now and it all comes down to one thing… who else is a contender in the East?  Miami is the overwhelming favorite, then Boston, then you’re pretty much just guessing.

• Indiana is a team that struggles to find an identity on offense.
• Brooklyn was one of the worst teams in the league last year and while they’ve added Joe Johnson and hopefully get a healthy year out of Brook Lopez, those seems to be the moves that make a bad team good…. not elite.
•  If Philadelphia’s season depends on Bynum’s health AND maturity…. I’m selling.  Philli lost it’s best player in Iguodala and their best crunch time scorer, Lou Williams.
• The Bulls are just overrated with their current roster, and that’s even with Rose healthy. They need a second option that isn’t Loul Deng to be a serious contender.
• The gap between Miami and Boston is just much closer than the gap between Boston and #3.

Boston came ONE game away from being in the NBA Finals last year.  In my eyes the Miami-Boston rivalry has escalated to the point where Boston’s primary objective is to beat out Miami rather than a championship.  For Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett a rematch with Miami is their championship… and they know they don’t have many more opportunities.  Just don’t get nervous if you don’t like what you see in Boston in the regular season, they are the best team in the league at knowing how to pace themselves for the playoffs.

Boston got significantly deeper! Boston will be playing adding Jeff Green and Avery Bradley to their rotation for the playoffs, two guys who can guard Lebron and Wade better than anyone they had last year. They replaced Allen with Terry. They also added Jared Sullinger who could be an x-factor on this team along with a solid rotational player in Courtney Lee.  Even with KG and the Truth a year older, this team is still better than last year. Oh, and Doc Rivers is easily one of the best coaches in the league.

Outside of an injury, I can’t see how a Miami Boston series doesn’t decide the East.  When it does happen, the odds line won’t  +850 for Miami either…bet now, hedge later.  If Garnett or Rondo suffer a serious injury they surely won’t beat Miami, but I still think they would have the shot to be the last team standing between Miami and getting to the Finals. Remember how deep Boston got in 2010 without Garnett?   If Lebron, Wade, or Bosh suffer an injury I’d favorite Boston over Miami in a series.

New Orleans Hornets OVER 27.5 wins

Before you raise your eyebrow(s) here me out.

• The team won 21 (translates to 26 over 82 games) games last year in the midst of new ownership and trading their franchise player.
• Marco Belinelli led the team in minutes.  Easily the worst player to do so last year.
• Most notable of all acquisitions,  they added the next Kevin Garnett to their team, except with a year of college.
• Their best player, Eric Gordon,  only started 9 games for them last year.  A number which I expect to go up, even by conservative estimations.
• The bottom of the playoffs in the West is more wide open than usual, and while unlikely, it wouldn’t shock me to see this team in the hunt for the 8 seed.

The season is upon us. appeared first on Spreadapedia.