The NBA Playoffs are down to its final four teams, with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets doing battle in the Western Conference finals, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics matching up over in the East.
With both series set to tipoff soon, here’s a look at each team’s NBA Championship basketball betting online odds and reasons for and against laying some action on those NBA futures:
Golden State Warriors (-160)
Why Golden State will win: Just look at that roster. Golden State starts four all-stars, two of which are among the NBA’s elite in Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Defenses really must pick their poison when it comes to stopping the Warriors, who could make their fourth straight trip to the finals and possibly win their third title in that span with a victory over Houston. There’s a surplus of experience and big-game composure with this team.
Why Golden State won’t win: Ever since Golden State climbed to the top of the Western Conference, Houston has been building a team to beat the Warriors. And Golden State was less-than-healthy heading into the playoffs, with Curry nursing a knee injury and just recently returning to action. There’s not a lot of tread left on those tires and it’s incredibly tough to repeat as champions.
Houston Rockets (+250)
Why Houston will win: This was the NBA’s top team all season, and even edged the Warriors in their season series. James Harden is no longer a one-man show in Houston, with veteran Chris Paul shouldering some of the scoring load. The Rockets can bury opponents under a barrage of 3-pointers and actually play solid defense, allowing the fewest points against in the postseason so far.
Why Houston won’t win: While Paul has been a huge boost to the Rockets’ title hopes, he has a bad habit of disappearing in the postseason crunch. So far, the veteran point guard has been great, but can he still stay productive on offense after chasing around Curry on the defensive end?
Cleveland Cavaliers (+650)
Why Cleveland will win: LeBron James. LeBron James. LeBron James. Somehow, at age 33, we’re seeing the best basketball of James’ storied career. He was on another level during the Cavs’ sweep of the top-seed Raptors and is unstoppable on offense - that's not an exaggeration. That quick quarterfinal set has allowed LeBron to rest up before the East finals, with King James looking for his eighth straight NBA Finals appearance.
Why Cleveland won’t win: Behind LeBron, the Cleveland roster is about as deep as a mud puddle. Kevin Love played well in the closing game versus Toronto but is injury prone and comes up short some nights. Outside of Love, the Cavs don’t have the scoring depth that the other top contenders boast. If LeBron does finally run out of gas, Cleveland might not even make it out of the East.
Boston Celtics (+3,000)
Why Boston will win: This is a lineup that should include Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, but due to injuries the Celtics are leaning on a bunch of young unproven players, sprinkling in veterans like Al Horford and Marcus Smart. Head coach Brad Stevens deserves all the credit for getting the most out of his remaining roster, especially Jayson Tatum who has emerged as a blossoming superstar in the playoffs.
Why Boston won’t win: The Celtics don’t have a superstar to turn to when the going gets tough. Boston took advantage of an inexperienced 76ers squad, which wasn’t up to the intensity of postseason basketball and couldn’t adjust to Stevens defense. But sooner or later, the Celtics are going to need that star power and it’s just not there.