With thirteen groups still in state (a beneficial characterization for some at the breakpoint of elimination), it’s time to reset the naming odds for each.
L.A. won Games 2-4 by an average of 17 points. And Damian Lillard, the lifeblood of that miraculous run in the bubble near Orlando, Florida, has left the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with a knee injury.
That most offensive duty for Carmelo Anthony.
So even though the Lakers are almost certain to finish this series convincingly, Melo will sway.
Championship Odds: +25000 ($100 bet wins $25,000)
After a long and bizarre adventure in his first two seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, Fultz had a mini-escape in the 2019–20 season. He topped it off with a forged (albeit lost) functionality opposed to the Bucks.
But without Kristaps Porzingis (out with a torn meniscus), the Dallas Mavericks were obliterated by the Clippers by 43 points in Game 5. It felt like L.A. established control, and the Clips won’t give it up in Game 6 to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
The magic of a three-guard lineup with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder was far more potent than anticipated. And it’ll be enough to get one more win against the Houston Rockets. But the extended Cinderella run will end this round.
As tempting as it is to pick CP3 to exact revenge on the team that traded him last season, the return of Russell Westbrook will be too much to overcome.
Championship Odds: +6500
Championship Odds: +4200
The Miami Heat are not going to lay down for the top-seeded Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With two All-Stars, one of the game’s best floor-spacers and a solid supporting cast, Miami will push its second-round series to six or seven games before eventually falling.
This point of volume and power requires more than the attention of a single advocate. Fold entire defenses to the three-point line, which in turn paves the way for the removal of Butler and Adebayo.
Few groups are as well equipped to deal with this as Milwaukee, however, this trio will cause unrest before Miami comes out of the bubble.
The most important aspect of the Rockets’ micro-ball strategy is likely what it does for Russell Westbrook.
According to the Basketball Index’s “simple average impact,” which combines global Internet measurements in an unmarried digit, Tatum and Walker were the 14th and 20th most influential players in the league this season. Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam finished 18th and 33rd on this list.
Box plus/minus isn’t the end-all, be-all, but he ranked 57th in the NBA. And his 55.4 true shooting percentage was below average.
LeBron James currently has 25.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists. And if the Lakers need to win the title, he’ll probably have to do that stellar production.
You don’t secure the top seed in the Western Conference without being a good team, but L.A. isn’t the deepest one left. That means plenty of minutes and triple-doubles going forward.
In the first round, LeBron averaged only 32.8 minutes. That number will have to be overlooked in front of groups like the Rockets, Thunder, Clippers or Bucks. That’s another thing that will average a triple-double in the playoffs.
In addition to Bledsoe’s continued struggles from the field, the Bucks have been significantly better with him off the floor this postseason.
Championship odds: $270
The Los Angeles Clippers are going to win it all.