NBA East Championship Futures
Posted on April 17, 2008 | 9:08 AM ET Filed under:The Eastern Conference still plays second fiddle to the West, but the exodus of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics has tipped the balance a little closer to the East. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 66-16, and they’re the heavy favorites to win the conference at –350. The 8-seed Atlanta Hawks (37-45) are little competition in the first round at +6500.
The second-best team in the East also happens to be better than anyone in the West. The 59-23 Detroit Pistons are +200 to go back to the Finals; they had some success against Boston earlier this season, beating the C’s as part of an 11-game winning streak. But the Celtics won their next two meetings. The Pistons will warm up by playing the 40-42 Philadelphia 76ers (+3000) in the opening round.
The 52-30 Orlando Magic have cooled off a bit since starting the season 14-3, but the No. 3 seed in the East is still a viable contender at 52-30 and a bargain at +1000. There is the matter of getting past the 41-41 Toronto Raptors in the first round. The Raptors (+2500) are healthy after a long string of injuries and figure to be a better team on paper than last year’s 47-win club.
The futures market is showing more love for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the No. 4 seed at 45-37. They’re +600 to win the East, but Cleveland is stumbling into the playoffs at 5-6 in the past 11 games. Their first-round series with the 43-39 Washington Wizards (+1500) ought to be interesting.
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