The Philadelphia 76ers have bolstered their roster ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, but the Golden State Warriors still lead the pack as the clear championship betting favorites.
After making a trade to acquire Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers look to be all in on making a run at the NBA title this year.
The 76ers have now added veterans Harris and Jimmy Butler to a lineup that previously featured a pair of young stars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. But has Philadelphia improved enough to offer value as the +1600 seventh choice (bet $100 to win $1,600) on the latest NBA championship odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com?
That is a tough question to answer right now, although the 76ers appear to at least have a better starting lineup than either the Toronto Raptors or Boston Celtics, who are listed at +800 and +1000 to win the NBA title, respectively, at betting sites.
Toronto and Boston are Philadelphia’s main competition in the Eastern Conference along with the Milwaukee Bucks, who also hold some value as the +1100 co-fifth choice with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As Thursday’s NBA trade deadline rapidly approaches, it may be tough to find a bigger impact player that will be dealt than Harris unless Anthony Davis is moved.
Oddsmakers have the Lakers at +1100 for that very reason, because they are still trying to put together a good enough package to entice the New Orleans Pelicans to deal Davis. Los Angeles picked up swingman Reggie Bullock from the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday in order to help improve their outside shooting, but Davis remains their top target.
If the Lakers fail to land Davis, their odds will likely plummet, especially since almost every player not named LeBron James has reportedly been offered to the Pelicans.
The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors remain strong favorites to repeat this season at -220 (bet $220 to win $100) while three more teams to watch in the Western Conference are the Houston Rockets (+1300), Oklahoma City Thunder (+2000) and Denver Nuggets (+2200). The Rockets are in the mix thanks to the dominance of James Harden, who is favored on the NBA MVP odds.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.