Cavs, Celtics, Raptors, Hawks, and Bulls All Have Better Odds to Win the East than the Pacers
By Jared Wade
The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls are among the six teams that have better odds than, or the same odds as, the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference.
Despite a bunch of offseason moves to bring in some high-caliber players, at least one Vegas oddsmaker still sees the Indiana Pacers as a middling team in the Eastern Conference.
Bovada naturally has the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers as the favorite to win the conference, with the rising-darling Boston Celtics and already-proven Toronto Raptors rounding out the top three.
Then come the Atlanta Hawks, which lost Al Horford (to the Celtics) and Jeff Teague (to the Pacers) this summer but picked up Dwight Howard. They are followed by the new-look Chicago Bulls, which have added Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo to replace the departing Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose.
And then, in a tie for the sixth-best odds, comes the Pacers — tied with the New York Knicks and their array of cast-off former Bulls.
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Odds to Win the Eastern Conference
- Cleveland Cavaliers 5/11
- Boston Celtics 5/1
- Toronto Raptors 14/1
- Atlanta Hawks 25/1
- Chicago Bulls 25/1
- New York Knicks 28/1
- Indiana Pacers 28/1
- Detroit Pistons 40/1
- Miami Heat 40/1
- Milwaukee Bucks 40/1
- Washington Wizards 40/1
- Orlando Magic 50/1
- Charlotte Hornets 100/1
- Philadelphia 76ers 150/1
- Brooklyn Nets 200/1
This is all reasonable.
The Bulls and Knicks could actually make something of these past-their-prime “superteams” they’ve concocted. New York also has Kristaps Porzingis and the Pacers saw first-hand — twice — last year just how good Jimmy Butler is.
Indiana’s acquisitions also remain misfit and possibly better on paper than on the court (and some would say Thaddeus Young doesn’t even look all that great on their paper). They also have a new coach who hasn’t run a team in several years.
Then again, plenty of people would tell you that the Pacers will end up as the second-best team whose fourth, fifth, and sixth best players are Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson and Thad Young, which doesn’t sound so shabby at all now does it?
Vegas bookmakers have also set the over/under on Pacers wins this season at a meager 43.5. So there is room for the debate about whether those in Sin City might be way off about this roster.
Mainly, it all goes to show the uncertainly throughout the East this season. All of the teams so far listed are almost entirely revamped outside of the Cavs and Raptors.
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The Western Conference is expected to be a Golden State Warriors coronation. And without major injuries, everyone expects Cavs/Dubs 3 in the Finals.
The regular season in the East, however, is going to be a lot of fun. We have no idea what most of these teams will be.
A few will turn out to be excellent, some will be middling, and one or two could be a landfill blaze. Let’s just hope Larry Bird’s remade roster doesn’t fall into that last category.