No Steph Curry in Round 1 for Golden State. Patrick Smith/Getty Images
With 82 games down and an added 5 minutes of overtime for the final spot in the West brings us here. The NBA Playoffs, let the games begin.
Updated Playoff NBA Championship Odds
2017-18 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Golden State Warriors +135
Houston Rockets +160
Cleveland Cavaliers +650
Toronto Raptors +850
Philadelphia 76ers +1500
Oklahoma City Thunder +2500
Portland Trail Blazers +3300
Utah Jazz +4500
San Antonio Spurs +6000
Boston Celtics +7000
Minnesota Timberwolves +9000
Washington Wizards +10000
New Orleans Pelicans +10000
Milwaukee Bucks +10000
Indiana Pacers +10000
Miami Heat +15000
As expected. Houston and Golden State lead the way paying out substantially less than the rest of the field. The next team up in term of betting odds, Cleveland, sits at +650 leading the East, although they finished fourth in the conference. Before the season started, the inevitable finals clash between the Warriors and Cavaliers had LeBron James and company priced at +500, now after all the turmoil of this season, you can get greater odds.
The sleeper on everyone's radar seems to be Philidelphia sitting at +1500. While this might seem like a decent price for a team playing as well as anyone in the league, the truth is someone is sitting out there with a pre-NBA season ticket with the 76ers at +15000. In this year's field, there are a few preseason longshots, before the season tipping off the Blazers, Jazz, Timberwolves, and Pacers were all +15000 to win the title.
The hometown Houston Rockets odds dropped considerably from the beginning of the year, where preseason they could be had at +700, now you're getting +160/+190.
While some teams overexceeded expectations and lost odds, others played under the radar and pay out larger amounts than betting them at the beginning of the year leaving backers scratching their heads.
Current | Pre Season
Spurs +6000 +1500
Celitics +7000 +2000
Wizards +10000 +5000
Bucks +10000 +7500
Heat +15000 +12500
Series odds
Eastern Conference - First Round
Boston vs. Milwaukee
Celtics (-150)
Bucks (+130)
Philadelphia vs. Miami
76ers (-550)
Heat (+420)
Toronto vs. Washington
Raptors (-650)
Wizards (+480)
Cleveland vs. Indiana
Cavaliers (-650)
Pacers (+480)
Western Conference - First Round
Oklahoma City vs. Utah
Thunder (-135)
Jazz (+115)
Portland vs. New Orleans
Trail Blazers (-225)
Pelicans (+190)
Golden State vs. San Antonio
Warriors (-1500)
Spurs (+900)
Houston vs. Minnesota
Rockets (-6000)
Timberwolves (+2000)
ATS Trends
Boston vs. Milwaukee
Boston 50-30-2 ATS
Boston 22-17-2 ATS at home
Boston 30-25-2 ATS as the favorite
Milwaukee 35-44-3 ATS
Milwaukee 22-18-1 ATS on the road
Milwaukee 15-18-1 ATS as a dog.
Philadelphia vs. Miami
Philadelphia 47-33-2 ATS
Philadelphia 27-14 ATS at home
Philadelphia 34-21 as the favorite
Miami 40-36-6 ATS
Miami 24-15-2 ATS on the road
Miami 22-15-3 ATS as the dog
Toronto vs. Washington
Toronto 43-38-1 ATS
Toronto 21-19-1 ATS at home
Toronto 34-33-1 ATS as the favorite
Washington 37-44-1 ATS
Washington 21-20 ATS on the road
Washington 18-11 ATS as the dog
Cleveland vs. Indiana
Cleveland 32-49-1 ATS
Cleveland 13-27-1 ATS at home
Cleveland 19-44-1 ATS as the favorite
Indiana 47-35 ATS
Indiana 23-18 ATS on the road
Indiana 22-22 ATS as the dog
Oklahoma City vs. Utah
Oklahoma City 34-47-1 ATS
Oklahoma City 16-24-1 ATS at home
Oklahoma City 27-41-1 ATS as the favorite
Utah 43-38-1 ATS
Utah 21-19-1 ATS on the road
Utah 20-17 ATS as the dog
Portland vs. New Orleans
Portland 45-31-6 ATS
Portland 22-14-5 ATS at home
Portland 28-20-4 ATS as the favorite
New Orleans 45-36-1 ATS
New Orleans 19-21-1 ATS on the road
New Orleans 18-18 ATS as the dog
Golden State vs. San Antonio
Golden State 34-47-1 ATS
Golden State 16-24-1 ATS at home
Golden State 33-42-1 ATS as the favorite
San Antonio 40-38-4 ATS
San Antonio 15-24-2 ATS on the road
San Antonio 10-12-1 ATS as the dog
Houston vs. Minnesota
Houston 41-39-2 ATS
Houston 17-23-1 ATS at home
Houston 39-34-2 ATS as the favorite
Minnesota 37-42-3 ATS
Minnesota 17-23-1 ATS on the road
Minnesota 13-18 ATS as the dog
Weekend Picks
Thunder vs Jazz Game 1
Under 205
Rockets vs. Thunder Game 1
Rockets Team Total over 114
Warriors vs. Spurs Game 1
Spurs+8
Blazers vs. Pelicans Game 1
Over 217
Blazers Team Total over 111
76ers vs. Heat Game 1
76ers 1st quarter -2
76ers first half -4
Celtics win series
Thunder win series
For any questions or comments reach me @JerryBoknowz on Twitter
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.