The 2015/16 NBA season is now moving rapidly towards its conclusion, with the playoffs looming at only a month away. This means we normally find it an ideal time to have a look at what teams have a realistic shot at winning the championship. Is this year different? Not really, aside from the fact that we really only have 2-3 teams with a shot at the chip, where normally we are talking about 6 or 7 teams.
At the moment, the clear favorites are the Golden State Warriors. Aside from their record, you need to look no further than the odds makers – and by extension the favorites of the bookies – they are ‘all in’ with the Golden State Warriors. They have been given spread betting odds of 29-19-2 and are on 6/5 with many bookies as a straight up bet to win it. At 55 wins and 5 losses, the Warriors are waaay ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Divison with a record of 40 wins and 20 losses.
In the East many believe the Cleveland Cavaliers are in contention, but are they really. They haven’t improved that much on last year, and they lost to a Warriors team in the Finals that most would agree are much better this season. Most Cavs fans however would point to the injuries to Love and Irving as the reason they were beat handily by the Warriors, but this season in big games they haven’t exactly inspired confidence that this is the case. Of course, LeBron James is also a key weapon in their armoury, with his decision to remain with the Cavaliers, you can never count them out on any given night. Lebron is the main reason you can’t completely exclude the Cavs this year.
The San Antonio Spurs are rated 3/1 for the NBA Championship this season, despite many feeling that their squad is a little on the ‘mature’ side. The recruiting of LaMarcus Aldridge during the offseason, along with the amazingly cheap deal for brilliant forward David West are indications that the Spurs are very serious about challenging for the title again. With rumors they may pick up Kevin Martin for an added scoring punch, and their incredible record only 4 games shy of the Warriors historic season, they are definitely the only real legitimate alternative to the Warriors to win the CHIP.
There is still a long way to go in this NBA season and if you are still unsure who to bet on, playing a basketball themed slots game from an online casino site like casinoonline.co.nz will offer an excellent alternative to pass the time till the big one is decided.
