There’s only one week left in the regular season, but there’s still a lot left to be seeded for the NBA playoffs. Therefore, even after the postseason begins, it is still unclear what kind of matchups they will face.
Therefore, sportsbooks have not yet expanded their menu regarding the future of the playoffs.
There are plenty of opportunities to add to your portfolio once the matchup is decided, but there’s one futures bet that bettors will want to place early.
NBA Western Conference championship odds
| team | odds | team | odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| nugget | +155 | Mavericks | +1300 |
| clippers | +380 | lakers | +1600 |
| Thunder | +600 | warriors | +3400 |
| Timberwolves | +750 | pelicans | +4200 |
| sans | +850 | kings | +5500 |
NBA Playoffs Futures Best Bets
The Dallas Mavericks seemed all but destined to make the play-in tournament, but they are quickly climbing up the Western Conference standings.
The Mavericks currently sit in fifth place in the conference with a record of 48 wins and 30 losses, two games behind the fourth-seeded Clippers.
But for Dallas to have any chance of catching up, the Clippers would need to completely collapse with four games remaining.
The Clippers hold a 2-1 tiebreaker in the season series, so the Mavericks will have to make up for three lost games.
Nevertheless, if both teams play and Los Angeles has home court advantage, Dallas should still have a good chance to advance.
The Mavericks have been on a remarkable rise of late, winning nine of their last 10 games and 14 of their past 16 games.
It’s an advantage when you have two superstars like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on the floor, but some will point to the Mavericks’ much-improved defense as a reason for their recent success.
Things started to look up for Dallas, which started 2-5 after the All-Star break. Over those seven games, the Mavericks had the worst defensive rating, allowing 126 points per 100 possessions.
Since then, their ERA is 106.5, the best in the league during that span.
Dallas made a shrewd move at the trade deadline by adding center Daniel Gafford and forward P.J. Washington to strengthen their frontcourt.
To acquire Gafford, the Mavericks sent Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick to the Wizards, and sent Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Washington.
There wasn’t much downside to making the deal, as the assets the Mavericks parted with didn’t fit into their short-term or long-term plans.
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When you look at the Mavericks’ ability to defend at the rim and make switches on the perimeter, they have what it takes to make a run in the postseason.
Offensively, Doncic and Irving are nearly impossible to guard due to their ability to score at will and create for their teammates.
The partnership initially appeared to be doomed last season, as Dallas didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. However, the Mavericks seem to be taking advantage of that disappointment and are starting to see results.
This Mavericks team looks nothing like the team we saw earlier in the season, and at +1300 they are a legitimate dark horse to make the NBA Finals.
