The Milwaukee Bucks held down the best record in the Eastern Conference – and in the entire NBA – when the league put its season on pause. Now hoping to return to action later this month in Orlando, Giannis Antetokounmpo and company are the clear betting favorites on the odds to win the Eastern Conference at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Bucks are -185 chalk at online betting sites to win the East this summer, and they went 53-12 for an .815 winning percentage over their first 65 games this season. That had them 6.5 games up in the conference standings on the Toronto Raptors, who defeated them in six games in the Eastern Finals last season en route to winning their first NBA championship.
Milwaukee is scheduled to return to the hardwood on Friday, July 31 against the Boston Celtics, who are the +550 second favorites on the Eastern Conference odds heading into the league restart. Boston sat at 43-21 when the regular season was paused, 9.5 games behind Milwaukee and three games behind Toronto in the standings. The Celtics fell in five games to the Bucks when the teams met in the second round of the playoffs last season.
And the Raptors are then +600 third favorites on those NBA odds at sportsbooks, sitting at 46-18 when the season was paused and returning to action on Saturday, August 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Raptors topped the Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals last season, but won’t have NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard this time around.
The Philadelphia 76ers then trail at +750 on the Eastern Conference betting lines, followed by the Miami Heat at +1100. The Indiana Pacers, who are hoping that shooting guard Victor Oladipo will be able to play this summer, are then at +5000, with the Brooklyn Nets at +8000, and both the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards set as longshots at +25000.
The NBA’s seeding round in Orlando will run from July 30 to August 14, after which the NBA playoffs will get underway. Nine Eastern teams will participate in the seeding round, with the Wizards looking to displace either the Nets or the Magic for one of the eight playoff berths.
