The last two teams standing in the Western Conference are atop the latest odds to win the NBA championship at sports books monitored by OddsShark.com heading into the conference finals this weekend.
The Golden State Warriors are the -150 betting favorites (wager $150 to win $100) on the updated NBA title odds, with the Houston Rockets a step behind them at +240 (wager $100 to win $240) on the futures list. The Cleveland Cavaliers (+550) and Boston Celtics (+1600) round out the championship odds.
And the Warriors are also set as the betting favorites against the top-seeded Rockets in their Western Conference Finals matchup, which gets underway with Game 1 on Monday night in Houston. Golden State, the second seed in the conference, is the -180 favorite on the series prices, with Houston the +160 underdog.
Golden State hasn’t run into much resistance so far in the playoffs, knocking out the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the first round and then taking care of business against the New Orleans Pelicans in five games in the second round. Houston has only needed 10 games to get to this point as well, topping both the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz in five games.
For Game 1 on Monday night the Rockets are pegged as small 2-point home favorites, with the total listed at 224 points. Golden State has the slight edge at 6-4 straight up and 5-4-1 against the spread in its last 10 games against Houston, according to the OddsShark NBA Database, with the OVER having only paid out for totals bettors three times in those 10 contests.
Over in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers are set as -280 favorites on the series prices, with the Celtics the +235 underdogs. That best-of-seven set gets underway on Sunday afternoon in Boston.
The Celtics needed the full seven games to get past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, but surprised with a five-game series win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. The Cavaliers also went the full seven games in the first round against the Indiana Pacers, but then swept the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the second round.
Boston is listed as a small 1-point home underdog for Sunday’s Game 1, with the OVER/UNDER set at 203 points. The Cavaliers are 7-3 SU but just 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games against the Celtics, with the UNDER paying off for totals bettors six times in that stretch.
