As long as NBA players continue to follow health and safety protocols while in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex bubble site, the 2019-20 pandemic-shortened campaign will resume on July 30.
Per BetOnline.ag, the club that held the Association’s best record when the league halted play on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic isn’t the favorite to win the title.
League-leaders the Milwaukee Bucks, who entered the bubble at 53-12, are +300 to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. That has Milwaukee tied with the Los Angeles Clippers (+300).
Ahead of both, however, are the Los Angeles Lakers led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Western Conference’s top side with a 49-14 mark sits at +240.
The Houston Rockets are at +1200 as they wait for guard Russell Westbrook to receive clearance to fly to Orlando following a positive coronavirus test. As Mark Nilon of Hardwood Houdini wrote, the Boston Celtics (+1600) are the only team in the bubble with five players on the ESPN top-50 list.
A Philadelphia 76ers side featuring a disgruntled Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons’ much-documented shooting woes are tied with the Toronto Raptors at +2000. The defending champs don’t have Kawhi Leonard this time around, nor will the second seed in the Eastern Conference feed off home-court advantage in playoff games.
Is Nikola Jokic’s return to the Denver Nuggets enough to get you to take a flier on Denver at +2500? Are the Dallas Mavericks or Miami Heat at +3000 the best value buys of the competition? Have the Utah Jazz forgiven Rudy Gobert enough to be a steal at +5000?
To continue reading the full article, click HERE.
By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/17/20
