Updated Series Odds to Win 2021 NBA Finals
2021 NBA Finals
The 2021 NBA Playoffs have been wildly insane. And unfortunately, now, a team has been knocked out after the best season in franchise history. That would be the LA Clippers, who failed to accomplish their goal of winning the title. It hurt that Kawhi Leonard was not around, and now things are finished.
And advancing is the Phoenix Suns, off to the Finals. They have done some great work this year and are just four wins away from pushing their way into winning the entire thing.
It will not be too easy to make a ton of money off the Suns, who are heavy favorites. But, they are a team that everybody should be betting money on, no questions asked. They are in the last round and have a shot of winning a real title.
The Team is For Real
The last time Phoenix made it to the playoffs, Devin Booker was a young teenager, nowhere near making it to the NBA. And now that they are back in, no time is being wasted. They got their first 12 wins and are 3/4 of the way to winning their first-ever championship. The second year of the Monty Williams era, and off they have gone.
Booker and Chris Paul have amazed all year long. The team going 8-0 in the bubble is all they needed to land a guy like that, a reason to make a push to be great. A lot of things have had to happen for the team to get here, including injuries in all three rounds. But a trip to the Finals is still so very real.
They were the #2 seed during the regular season and then never had to face the Jazz. They faced off with the #7 seed, the #3 seed, and then the #4. As a result, home court was theirs for the whole journey. And the best part of it all is that it ended on the road.
The Bench Looks Good
Even with Cam Johnson out for Game 6 against LA, they rallied and got their win. Torrey Craig came in and played big minutes, dominating his time on the court. He was huge defensively, and in his first 17 minutes on the court, the team was a whopping +21. He took the tough assignments and just made the right reads.
Cameron Payne has gone from league laughing stock to legitimate sixth man. Cam is making shots every game, plays that lead the team to wins. All he does is absorb the knowledge the team’s starters give him. He put up a 29-point, nine-assist, and 0-turnover game to open the series with Paul not playing, showing that he could handle the situation.
And though Dario Saric is not necessarily great, he comes in and makes the plays he has to. He spaces the floor for his team and hits shots from time to time. He isn’t asked to do a lot, and that is why he thrives as he does. Depending on their matchup next round, they could choose to turn to Frank Kaminsky, who got minutes against Denver.
Abdel Nader is not a world-beater and is pretty much average across the board. But he battled back from injury and then came in and played good minutes over the final few games. Seeing him out there had to give the team a serious lift.
Chris Paul is Finally Moving On
He entered the league in 2005. And for many of the seasons he has been in the NBA, different obstacles got in CP3’s way. Whether it was injuries or the team not being good enough. Strokes of bad luck in so many different areas. There are a million possible excuses.
In 2021, there are none. He has put up the best postseason efforts and stats of his long career and has led the team to the promised land. Phoenix has never won the title. They haven’t made it since the ’90s, when MJ was still in his prime. But, here they are. Paul no longer has to look at the “what-ifs.” This is his best chance now to win it all, four wins away and likely to face a team without its best player at full strength regardless of matchup.
Phoenix’s Odds of Winning the Title
Regardless of if the team plays against Milwaukee or Atlanta, the Suns are the favorites. -118 is what oddsmakers give as their chance to win a title. Betting big bucks is what it takes to win big bucks. They are the most likely team to win.
Paul and Booker are the best duo left in the playoffs after the Giannis injury. A healthy Trae Young could lift an Atlanta team to the most shocking title ever. But, anything can happen. The most likely thing to happen is for the Suns to rock out in the season finale.
Derek Hudson
Derek is a long time sports bettor who grew up in Providence, RI. Derek is data driven and believes the key to betting the sportsbooks is finding an edge in analytics. Derek is happily married and has two young boys. Derek will bet on anything if you let him.
