Payouts for futures bets are usually better than even, or greater than +100, so the amount staked is much less than the potential payout. Of course, the inherent risk of futures betting is the unknown of the future. BookMaker posts adjusted futures odds to win the NBA championship every day of the season.
With the 2015-16 NBA season fast approaching, it’s time to check the win total on all 30 teams and dust off the crystal ball to make our thorough and informative predictions. The defending champion Warriors top the list with a projected over/under of 59.5, a steep drop from their 67 wins last season. But considering no Western Conference team since the late 90s has posted back-to-back 61-plus win seasons, not unexpected. On the bottom of the list, is third overall pick Jahlil Okafor enough to get 76ers to 21 wins?
2015-16 NBA WIN TOTALS
Golden State Warriors 59.5
Cleveland Cavaliers 57.5
Los Angeles Clippers 57.5
Houston Rockets 56.5
Oklahoma City Thunder 56.5
San Antonio Spurs 56.5
Chicago Bulls 50.5
Memphis Grizzlies 50.5
Atlanta Hawks 49.5
Miami Heat 47.5
New Orleans Pelicans 47.5
Toronto Raptors 46.5
Washington Wizards 46.5
Milwaukee Bucks 44.5
Boston Celtics 43.5
Utah Jazz 42.5
Indiana Pacers 41.5
Dallas Mavericks 36.5
Detroit Pistons 36.5
Phoenix Suns 36.5
Orlando Magic 34.5
Sacramento Kings 34.5
Charlotte Hornets 31.5
Los Angeles Lakers 29.5
New York Knicks 29.5
Brooklyn Nets 28
Denver Nuggets 27.5
Minnesota Timberwolves 27.5
Portland Blazers 25.5
Philadelphia 76ers 20.5
Six Western Conference teams were given 50-plus win totals for the upcoming NBA season. Not surprising since the majority of talent resides in that conference and seven teams reached the 50-win mark last season. The defending champion Warriors topped the list at BookMaker with a win total of 59.5, a nine-game increase from their projected win total at the start of last season. And we know what happened there.
The Warriors line looks treacherous. Since 2000, only two teams have won 61 or more games in back-to-back seasons: Boston in 2008-09 and Cleveland in 2009-10. No team in the West has done it and that’s a sign of the parity in the conference. The good teams beat up on the Eastern Conference and the lesser squads in the West, while slapping each other around in head-to-head battles.
Yet the Warriors have a great shot at becoming the first Western Conference team since the 1997-98 Utah Jazz to accomplish the feat. They are young, in their primes, know what it takes to win, coming off 67 wins and a historic point differential. They are an extraordinarily stable, veteran-laden team with a precision offense and great chemistry. Their three most important players – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green – are all on the right side of the growth curve, and coach Steve Kerr has a strong bench with quality backups at all five positions.
Golden State’s homecourt advantage is the best in the NBA and the Warriors likely get 37-plus wins at Oracle Arena, making the road to 60 that much easier. They won’t repeat as 67-win juggernauts, but this is a 60-win team.
The Orlando Magic has a talented roster of young players and if the core of the team stays together they could be something a few years down the road in the Eastern Conference as the team continues to dig out of the hole Dwight Howard left them in. Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic are all players with plenty of upside.
It seems like every year we wait for the Magic to make a jump and every year they disappoint. That makes the over/under of 34.5 look pretty steep. It seems easier to bet they’ll be seven games under .500 than better.
Young teams don’t win in the NBA and the Magic rely on a bunch of young guys. They have no veteran leadership until the youngsters get a few more years in the league or management makes a roster move. And it doesn’t look like that’s happening.
They’re also a young team that can’t shoot. Young teams are usually bad at playing defense because they either lack the know-how to defend, or they just don’t want to. Can a team with all athletes, few shooters and all young players be a tough, efficient defensive team? They’ll need to be to reach the over. And that’s a tough formula to get behind.
BookMaker already has futures NBA odds posted for all 30 NBA teams. During the season, you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option for every game on the docket.
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