So far, we’ve seen legitimate contenders breakaway from the pretenders, but which among these teams will win the conference championships and go all the way to win the NBA championship? We have compiled some of the top contenders from both conferences and take a closer look at their odds of going all the way. For good measure, we’ve also included our top candidates to win the regular season MVP and Rookie of the Year awards.
Odds to Win Conference Championships & NBA Title Plus MVP & Rookie of the Year Top Candidates
Eastern Conference
[sc:NBA240banner ]Indiana Pacers
Odds to win conference: EVEN
Odds to win NBA championship: +225
The Pacers are Miami’s biggest threat in the eastern conference. If Frank Vogel could straighten out Andrew Bynum, then the Pacers are likely to cause twice the trouble they caused the Heat last season.
Miami Heat
Odds to win conference: EVEN
Odds to win NBA championship: +225
Even though the Heat are running second to Indiana in the eastern conference, the defending champions have 13 wins against .500 or better teams before the All-Star break– the most by any team in the conference. Unless LeBron James suffers a serious injury, expect the Heat to be among the favorites to win the conference.
Brooklyn Nets
Odds to win conference: +2,000
Odds to win NBA championship: +4,000
The Nets were branded as a new superpower in the east after snagging Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry during the off-season. Instead, they became the newest disappointment in the league when adding up the harrowing win-to-payroll ratio. However, Jason Kidd appears to have finally grasped the idea of coaching as the Nets have won 14 of their last 20 games to move just 3.5 games behind Atlantic division top team, the Toronto Raptors. They also moved into the playoff picture with a 24-27 SU record, making them seventh in the east.
Chicago Bulls
Odds to win conference: +4,000
Odds to win NBA championship: +8,000
Joakim Noah is playing like a man possessed. He is almost single-handedly carrying the Bulls to the playoffs despite the fact that his team is missing Derrick Rose and trading away Luol Deng. But his superhuman efforts could only go as far in the playoffs and will likely need Carlos Boozer to drink whatever magic potion Noah is drinking if the Bulls plan to go deep in the postseason.
Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder
Odds to win conference: +130
Odds to win NBA championship: +350
The Thunder seem to be on cruise control already in the west even without Russell Westbrook. With Westbrook’s return, Oklahoma City could make winning the ultra-competitive western conference look like child’s play.
San Antonio Spurs
Odds to win conference: +450
Odds to win NBA championship: +1,000
Injuries have made it challenging for the Spurs, who are operating on shortened rotations. Notwithstanding the lack of able bodies, San Antonio avoids slippage by turning to the league’s best bench. Coach Gregg Popovich’s reserves are pouring on an average of 44.5 PPG throughout the regular season.
Golden State Warriors
Odds to win conference: +600
Odds to win NBA championship: +1,400
Losing at home to a buzzer-beating three by LeBron James left a bad taste in the mouth of the Warriors. Golden State is battling inconsistency in its recent outings, which is partly caused by the absence of Andrew Bogut due to injury.
Los Angeles Clippers
Odds to win conference: +600
Odds to win NBA championship: +1,500
Chris Paul’s return meant a more fluid offense for the Clippers, who did not miss a significant step while CP3 was out thanks to backup Darren Collison.
Portland Trail Blazers
Odds to win conference: +750
Odds to win NBA championship: +2,000
The No. 1 scoring and rebounding team in the NBA lost three of their last four games against top contenders Indiana, Oklahoma City, and LA Clippers. With panic settling in, can the Blazers pull it together for the playoffs?
MVP Top Candidates
LeBron James – Miami Heat
James leads the Heat in points, rebounds, and assists (26.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 6.6 APG) and is in the league’s top five in field goal percentage (57.1%). That stream of figures speaks volumes of his value to the Heat’s chase for a third NBA title in a row.
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
Where would the Thunder be without Durant? KD leads the league in scoring with an eye-popping 31.5 PPG and has the highest Player Impact Estimate (PIE) with 21.4%
Blake Griffin – Los Angeles Clippers
Griffin received a nice boost to his candidacy for the MVP award when he played a key role in keeping the Clippers away from major slippage while Chris Paul was out with a shoulder injury. He is averaging 24.2 PPG but has improved over the last 10 games by putting together an average of 30.8 PPG. The spike in scoring was helped by his 43-point explosion against the Heat.
Rookie of The Year Top Candidates
Playing in bottom-feeding teams has helped these youngsters bring out the most of their talents, therefore making them the cream of the crop of their draft class.
Michael Carter Williams – Philadelphia 76ers
Season Numbers: 17.1 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.4 RPG
Victor Oladipo – Orlando Magic
Season Numbers: 13.9 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.4 RPG
Trey Burke – Utah Jazz
Season Numbers: 12.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.1 RPG
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