NBA futures: Should you be wary of this betting favorite?
The biggest and the baddest are crushing the competition in the NBA, and their odds at sportsbooks of winning the next Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy are reflecting that. But is it better if you shy away from one of these favorites when you're putting your money down?
The Boston Celtics are the favorite at DraftKings to win the next NBA championship at +360 odds following a five-game winning streak, while the Milwaukee Bucks are listed at +400 after a four-game heater and the Philadelphia 76ers are listed at +1100 after a whopping six straight wins. At this rate, it looks like any of these three teams is prime to bet on.
Before you open up your wallet, you should consider which of these current favorites you should be a little more wary of betting on.
Sure, the Phoenix Suns are dominating out west and are +800 favorites at DK to win the next NBA Finals. However, a lack of consistency and going 4-6 over their last 10 tilts is reason to wonder if they aren't worth the bet.
The biggest issue plaguing the Suns right now is their defense, as head coach Frank Vogel said via ArizonaSports.com after a 139-122 loss to the New York Knicks.
"We just gotta make a decision whether we want to take care of our business on that side of the ball or not," Vogel said, "because what we’re doing is not good enough. Not tough enough, not alert enough."
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and company may have bounced back in their next outing with a win against the Washington Wizards, but the tough schedule ahead could make them even less of a betting favorite. After visiting a subpar Portland Trail Blazers team -- which is a 1000-1 long shot to win the title, in case you were wondering -- the Suns play sturdy competition in the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
The Suns' task of handling other good teams gets harder as they continue to be bitten by the injury bug, with Bradley Beal being the latest to be sidelined. If they can't rebound from their current run of 2-4 over six games, there is no telling what their odds could look like by the new year.
You can get a better idea if you watch Phoenix on Tuesday against Portland. Tipoff for that game is 10 p.m. ET.
More must-reads: