The Bucks were the NBA championship favorites entering the postseason. Then the Celtics took over with Milwaukee’s struggles against the Heat in the first round. Boston held firm control of the top spot from April 23 up until last night.
The 76ers’ major upset catapulted them from +900 yesterday to +300 now, with Boston swinging from +150 to +400. Philly is joined by Denver, who made a move of its own from +450 to +300 after a big Game 5 victory.
So what went into the decision to have the Nuggets and 76ers as co-favorites? We discussed with Head of Trading Kevin Lawler.
ASK THE TRADER: “The Sixers are -180 to close out Boston, and if they do that, they’ll be strong favorites to win the Eastern Conference Finals and will probably be slight favorites in the NBA Finals with home court. The Nuggets are -500 to close out Phoenix, and would be favorites regardless of who they face with home-court advantage in the next round. Future home-court advantage is why those two teams are just ahead of the Lakers, even with Los Angeles up an extra game in its series.”
