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NBA title odds following busy trade deadline

It's been a whirlwind day in the NBA, and it all kicked off late in the night when Brooklyn traded Kevin Durant to Phoenix. Since then, transactions have been flying left and right. We won't use this space to break down every single move, but do pop over to our NBA page for details on many of the more important moves made today.

The dust has settled, and with the All-Star break on the horizon, we've just about reached the halfway point of the NBA season. It's more aptly the final third of the season, with teams having played roughly 65% of their schedule.

The point remains: it's time to take stock of the league and how the betting markets are valuing each team.

Top 10 best odds to win NBA Finals

Odds are courtesy of DraftKings.

  1. Boston Celtics (+350)
  2. Phoenix Suns (+425)
  3. Milwaukee Bucks (+600)
  4. Denver Nuggets (+800)
  5. Los Angeles Clippers (+900)
  6. Philadelphia 76ers (+950)
  7. Memphis Grizzlies (+1400)
  8. Golden State Warriors (+1500)
  9. Dallas Mavericks (+1600)
  10. Cleveland Cavaliers (+1800)

Our takeaway is that the West got deeper today with the bevy of moves made to bolster playoff teams. The East seemed to get more top-heavy, namely due to Brooklyn shipping off both Durant and Kyrie Irving over the past 72 hours, plummeting their title odds to +8000.

The Suns were the biggest risers after pairing Durant with Devin Booker, Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton, a core that made it to the 2021 NBA Finals.

The Bucks big addition came in the form of Jae Crowder who they hope can help them defend Boston's wings. 

The Nuggets were the favorites in the West a week ago and remain atop the standings. Denver added Thomas Bryant today as a strong backup big.

Boston remains the favorite to win it all and traded for big-man Mike Muscala from Oklahoma City, bringing some more depth to their frontcourt.

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