- The Brooklyn Nets remain the NBA futures betting favorite to win the NBA Championship.
- Brooklyn is currently without James Harden and Kyrie Irving due to minor injuries.
- The Nets are now a +145 underdog to the Milwaukee Bucks in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Some things are inevitable. Death, taxes and the Brooklyn Nets’ head case superstars Kyrie Irving and James Harden disappearing one way or another when the team needs them most. Despite this, the Nets inexplicably remain the NBA futures betting favorite to win the NBA Championship proving PT Barnum’s adage that ‘there’s a sucker born every minute’.
There was a time when soccer players were considered the ‘softest’ of all professional athletes. Congratulations, NBA players–you now hold that dubious distinction. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the legit badasses–pro bull riders, boxers, NHL hockey players. No sport may be as physically demanding–and downright dangerous–as bull riding. Boxers and NHL hockey players are also tough as nails. NBA players aren’t. Fistfights between NBA players usually devolve into slap fights. They routinely miss months for injuries that NHL hockey players wouldn’t skip a shift for.
James Harden walked to the locker room within seconds after the start of Game 2 of the Milwaukee series. At least he had the dignity to just leave. Kyrie Irving rolled around on the floor acting like he’d been shot for several minutes before he was removed from the court. Neither player appears to have much urgency to returning to action even though there’s a good chance that the Nets will be eliminated without them. At least Harden could head back to the strip clubs he loves so much.
Somehow the Nets are still futures betting favorites to win the NBA Championship. This, despite the fact that they’re +145 underdogs to the Bucks in the conference semifinals. ESPN‘s essential sports betting expert David Purdum wrote an article on it in which Jason Scott, vice president of trading for BetMGM, tried to explain how this could occur:
“The philosophy is if they can overcome the injuries in the short term against the Bucks, they will be well-placed long term to win the conference and championship. However, if they both are ruled out long term, those futures markets will change. It’s very fluid right now.”
Translation: ‘if the Nets manage to escape against the Bucks every square in squares-ville will continue to throw money at them. We’re not going to discourage them for doing that.’
At BetOnline.ag, the Nets are a +160 favorite to win the Eastern Conference ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks (+170), Philadelphia 76ers (+205) and Atlanta Hawks (+4000). The Nets are +230 to win the NBA Championship ahead of the Utah Jazz (+325) and Phoenix Suns (+350). Either of these Western Conference teams would eviscerate the Nets.
