Las Vegas Insider NBA Futures Odds

Discussion in 'Chicago Bulls' started by transplant, Aug 8, 2014.

  1. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Link

    Now that the Love-to-Cavs thing is a done deal, I thought it would be a good idea to see exactly how doomed we as Bulls fans are. Maybe we can bump this from time to time to see how the odds change.

    Of course, the games are still played on the court.

    As expected, the Cavs are the favorites to win the east at 21-20 with the Bulls second at 3-1. The Wizards are at 15-1 and Vegas doesn't think much of any other EC team.

    The Cavs are also the current favorites to win the title at 16-5 with the Spurs second at 4-1. This surprised me a little...usually a defending champion maintains an aura of invincibility for several months after their parade. Then again, Lebron moving and being followed by Love is pretty special.

    In terms of the Bulls odds to win it all, they currently rank 4th at 10-1 behind the Cavs, Spurs and Thunder and just ahead of the Clippers (12-1). Right now, Vegas seems pretty comfortable in calling it a 5-horse race.

    I'm an avid non-gambler...never bought a lottery ticket that wasn't as gift. Still, I have a lot of respect for professional oddsmakers. They're certainly not infallible, but generally know what they're doing.
     
  2. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    21-20 was before Love traded to Cavs.

    They may not change the odds until the deal is truly done.
     
  3. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    http://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/story.cfm/story/1575989

    Prior to the trade, Sportsbook.ag had Cleveland listed as a 16/5 favorite (Bet $100 to win $320) to win the 2014-15 NBA Finals and a 21/20 choice (Bet $100 to win $105) to capture the Eastern Conference Finals.

    Since the announcement, the future odds have held steady but the offshore outfit has installed propositions for the Cavaliers on the upcoming season.
     
  4. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    One more point, is the odds you link to:
    ODDS TO WIN 2014-15 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP (6/15/15)

    See the date?

    I like your idea for this thread, but let's be accurate, IMO.
     
  5. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    I did see the date. Since it's next year, I didn't think that it was out-of-date. What's its (bad) significance?
     
  6. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    Skip Bayless ‏@RealSkipBayless 2h
    LeBron's new team being overrated. Little playoff experience beyond him and broken-down Verajao. Love not clutch, no D. No rim protector.

    I have to admit, I'm quite scared that Skipper agrees with my views on the Cavs 100%. Even when all of those points are just blatantly obvious.
     
  7. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    My bad. I read it as last month. The odds are old, though.
     
  8. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    You should be scared. Bayless has zero sports credibility and should never be used as a (affirming) source IMO.
     
  9. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    As for LeBron...

    A lot of smart gamblers would bet on whatever team he's on and let you have all the other teams in a wager. He's been in the Finals 4 straight years

    Love may not be a shot blocker, but he's decent enough in the post on defense. What he will do is shoot and score like we hope McBuckets might and he will make a lot of easy baskets so LeBron doesn't have to make so many hard ones. He'll also grab a lot of rebounds and otherwise fill out the stat sheet.
     
  10. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Lebron James is the best player on the planet and there's no debate. James's team has won 2 of the last 3 championships. I agree that you bet against him at your own risk.

    James has been paired with Kevin Love, arguably the best stretch 4 in the NBA and a brilliant rebounder.

    Deal with it, Bulls fans...our team has got its work cut out for it.
     
  11. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    We agree!

    I'd add that Cleveland is much better built than the Heat were.

    They're not a big 3 with a good PG and over the hill ring chasing vets.

    They are a big 3 with two guys who can actually play C, two primary ball handler types a PF who stretches the floor better and both scores and rebounds better than Bosh.

    I like Waiters at SG. I'm jealous he's not our SG.

    Thompson is their Taj-like 6th man.

    The wildcard is the coach.
     
  12. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    Yes, dude, I was being quite serious. I just happened to read his comment on Twitter, and I wondered how he got 4 facts correct:

    The Cavs don't have much playoff experience (in the starting unit) with Irving, Love and Waiters never having been.

    I've posted Love's horrible clutch stats before, and he is known as being a very poor and indifferent defender.

    And they don't currently have a rim protector- Sideshow Bob is their leading returner, and he blocked 0.6 per game in 27.7 minutes last season. Thompson had 0.4 in over 30 minutes, and Love is certainly no shot-blocker.
     
  13. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Dude...really?
     
  14. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    All true, to me it comes down to whether or not this team can defend, and whether or not Blatt's Euro success can translate to the NBA.

    Though with the NBA becoming more FIBA-ized annually, it certainly will be easier for Blatt than it would have been 10 years ago.
     
  15. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    Like, totally.
     
  16. Bullsville

    Bullsville Intelligent Bulls Fan

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    Of anyone averaging 30-plus minutes per game at power forward or center last season, the NBA’s five worst interior defenders were Thaddeus Young (60.2% FG), Tristan Thompson (59.1%), Kevin Love (57.4%), Nikola Vucevic (56.4%) and Nikola Pekovic (55.2%).

    By that same criterion, the NBA’s worst shot-blockers were Zach Randolph at 0.3 blocks per game, David Lee, Thompson and Pekovic at 0.4 blocks, then Love, Young and Glen Davis at 0.5 blocks.

    http://grantland.com/features/kevin-love-lebron-james-trade-minnesota-timberwolves/

    The most consistent criticism leveled at Love: He’d rather chase a rebound over playing help defense, so if one of his teammates is getting beat off the dribble, Love won’t help because he’s too busy getting in rebounding position.

    ==================

    I'll be the first to admit that I've rarely watched Love, outside of the times he was being thoroughly held below his normal output by the Bulls. We'll find out this season if he's a championship-caliber wing-man, or if all the criticisms leveled at him are true. Obviously, as a Bulls fan, I'm pulling hard for the latter.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2014
  17. Vintage

    Vintage Defeating Communism...

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    Even LeBron, Wade, and Bosh first joined up that trio was superior to this trio

    The Miami trio played both sides of the ball. And at that time, Wade was at an MVP level.


    Now, this Cleveland trio is better than last year's Miami trio. Wade is broken down.
     
  18. such sweet thunder

    such sweet thunder Member Staff Member Moderator

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    I've always thought of Love as being unfairly maligned because people don't realize how small he is. At 6'9" height/6'11" wingspan he's essentially the same size as Lebron James. Carmelo Anthony and Luol Deng, all around 6'8" height/7'0" wingspan. Nobody gets on those guys for their lack of ability to guard the rim because it would be preposterous to think that they could do so. So yes, the criticisms about Love not being able to guard the rim are completely accurate. And it would also be correct to say that he bails on doing so and chases rebounds instead. But at his size, that's the correct basketball decision. It's kind of like when people would get on Boozer for clinging to the rim and not getting out on guards, when he was way too slow to track them around the perimeter.

    I'm not sure what to make of this Cavs team. I have serious doubts about them. I'm so glad LJ decided to shake things up. It's so much more fun when the NBA is unpredictable like it will be going into next season.
     
  19. such sweet thunder

    such sweet thunder Member Staff Member Moderator

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    I think that Miami team also had a kind of network effect on each other too, where they became more than the sum of their parts. At its best, that team was fierce at forcing turnovers and getting out in transition, and a ton of that had to do with Wade and James. This Cavs team is going to have to find their own identity, a different identity, to be successful.
     

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