It appears the Miami Heat losing the NBA Finals didn’t discourage the odds makers from projecting the team as the favorites to win the title next season.
Currently, Miami is the 2-to-1 favorite to win the championship. Even though they had a bad finish to the NBA Finals, the team has fewer question marks than other title contenders.
While it could be looked at as disrespectful to not have the defending champions as the favorites, the Mavericks really aren’t built to win two or three championships in a row.
The team has six players who will become unrestricted free agents this summer, including Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea. Not to mention, the team may not catch lightning in a bottle the way they did this spring.
Teams such as the Lakers and Celtics, who were expected to make deep playoff runs, were easily exiled in their respective conference semifinal series. With aging rosters, both teams will likely have to make some moves before making another run at a championship.
Then there are the young guns: Oklahoma City, Memphis and Chicago. Of these three teams, Chicago has the best odds at 6-to-1. Personally, I would put my money on Oklahoma City.
No one knows how Memphis will perform with pressure on their shoulders, and Chicago proved in the conference finals they are largely a one man show.
I am not saying the Heat won’t have it tough either. The team is likely to be under the same kind of a microscope they were last season, especially after their meltdown in the Finals. But it ultimately makes sense for Miami to be the favorites headed into next season. They were two wins away from the championship this season, and have the league’s two best players in the prime of their careers.
Let’s just hope they don’t throw another “championship” celebration in the middle of July again.
According to the oddsmakers, here are the seven teams with the best chances of winning the championship next season:
Miami Heat 2-1
Chicago Bulls 6-1
Dallas Mavericks 7-1
Los Angeles Lakers 7-1
Oklahoma City Thunder 7-1
Boston Celtics 8-1
San Antonio Spurs 15-1
Odds courtesy of linesmaker.com
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
