Just hours after the Warriors held off the Cavs to win the 2017 NBA title, we’ve already got the odds for next season. Big shocker: the Warriors are the favorites. But what’s interesting here is the epic proportions by Vegas sports books are favoring them.
Golden State is listed with 1:2 odds while the Cavs are the only other team in single digits at 3:1. The Spurs (12:1) and the Celtics (15:1) are the only others with odds better than 30:1, so it’s pretty clear what that the bookies expect Cavs-Warriors Part IV next June.
Here’s what oddsmaker Jeff Sherman from Westgate Las Vegas Superbook told ESPN’s David Purdum:
“They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told ESPN.
And that’s scary.
If you thought the Warriors were championship or bust in 2016-17, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That’s a lot of pressure to live up to, but this team already handled similar expectations while creating new chemistry after the acquisition of Kevin Durant last summer. If this team won 67 games despite Durant being injured for six weeks and then cruised to a 16-1 record in the playoffs, it’s downright frightening to think about what next year’s squad can do.
Even though Stephen Curry is a free agent and Kevin Durant has a player option, all signs point to both stars staying in Golden State.
According to Sherman, there’s really only one thing the Cavs can do to narrow the gap between them and the Warriors, and that would be a trade for Pacers star Paul George:
“Adding [George] to the mix might be the closest thing we could see to another team challenging [Golden State] next year,” Sherman said, adding that the Warriors would still be the favorites if Cleveland added George.
Ugh. So … how many triple-doubles will Russell Westbrook need to make the regular season interesting this time around?
[ESPN]
