Screen Capture courtesy of NBA/YouTube.
The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off their NBA campaign with a 97-95 loss to their Central Division archrivals, the Chicago Bulls, but the Cavs remain the team to beat at the sportsbooks this season, pegged as 5/2 favorites to win their first-ever NBA championship in basketball betting at Betway’s online sportsbook.
The Cavaliers returned to contention last season following the return of prodigal son LeBron James, who had spent the previous four seasons with the Miami Heat, where he won a pair of NBA titles and was twice named NBA MVP.
Led by James, the Cavs returned to the NBA Finals last season for the first time since 2007, falling in six games to the Golden State Warriors, who open the season closely trailing the Cavaliers in NBA online betting at Betway, with 5/2 odds.
The Warriors dominated with 67 regular-season wins last season, while Stephen Curry set NBA records for most three-pointers made, both in the regular season and the NBA Playoffs, en route to his first NBA MVP award.
But Curry finds himself looking up at LeBron in NBA MVP betting as the season gets underway. James returns to action as a 5/2 favorite to win MVP honours for the fifth time in his career, while Curry joins the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant at 5/1, behind Anthony Davis, who enjoyed a breakthrough season with the New Orleans Pelicans, earning him 4/1 odds in MVP betting at Betway.
Eligible for free agency next summer, Durant returns to the hardwood after missing 55 games last season with a series of injuries.
The 27-year-old was sorely missed by OKC, who fell short of a playoff spot this past spring after winning four straight Northwest Division crowns.
With Durant and point guard, Russell Westbrook both healthy, the Thunder open the season as heavy 1/50 favorites to reclaim top spot in the Northwest, and a competitive 15/2 bet to win their first championship since the franchise relocated from Seattle in 2008.
Meanwhile, Davis has quickly emerged as one of the NBA’s most talented and exciting young players. After winning a college basketball national championship with the Kentucky Wildcats in 2012, Davis was selected first overall by New Orleans in the 2012 NBA Draft, and has quickly fulfilled his promise, tallying 24.4 points per game last season, along with an impressive 10.2 rebounds per game.
The emergence of Davis last year contributed to the Pelicans return to the postseason for the first time in four years, and has fueled their current rise in the NBA betting odds at Betway with all the advice from DraftKings, you can learn more here. They are pegged as a 16/1 dark horse to win the Western Conference, and a 12/1 bet to win the Southwest Division, trailing the San Antonio Spurs, who are perched as divisional favorites for a second straight year with 20/3 odds.
The Spurs also return to their familiar spot near the top of the NBA championship odds at 7/2.
While the team’s leadership continues to come from veterans, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, a duo of Spurs are also in the thick of NBA MVP betting at Betway, led by new arrival Marcus Aldridge sitting at an intriguing 22/1, and last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, Kawhi Leonard owns 40/1 odds. The Houston Rockets’ James Harden, who came in second last season in NBA MVP voting is perched at 11/2 odds.
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