While Golden State continues to be the favorites in the NBA, the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics both have better records and have gone on torrid hot streaks this season. The Warriors earned another win on Thursday night, beating the lowly Dallas Mavericks. The Cleveland Cavaliers have did the same, winning their third in a row after turning aside the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs (with Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup) are hanging around. The Warriors are red-hot – even without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green – but the gap might not be as large as you would think.
Here is a look at the latest power rankings with the teams in order of the NBA futures as per the odds makers.
1. Golden State Warriors
NBA Title Odds: -300
The Warriors (22-6) have won seven in a row after winning in Detroit and at home over Portland, and this week they’ll host Dallas and Memphis, along with a visit to the Los Angeles Lakers. Curry is out indefinitely with a bad ankle, while Green has a shoulder problem and Nick Young has a concussion. Kevin Durant has averaged 33.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists and 3.3 blocks over his last three games, and the Warriors need him to continue to play at an MVP-level.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Title Odds: +500
The Cavaliers (20-8) lost in Indiana, but then they won at home over Philadelphia and Atlanta, and this week, they’ll host the Lakers and Utah, along with trips to Washington and Milwaukee. LeBron James has been on a tear, putting up 27.8 points, 10.6 assists and 9.6 rebounds over his last five games, shooting 58.2% from the floor and 46.2% from three-point land. All of the talk about the problems that the Cavaliers were having at the beginning of the season look so far away.
3. Houston Rockets
NBA Title Odds: +800
The Rockets (22-4) extended their win streak to 11 with victories in Portland and at home over New Orleans and Charlotte, and they’ll stay home this week to host to San Antonio, Milwaukee, Utah and the Lakers. James Harden continues to play extremely well, but Chris Paul is back to his best, averaging 23.2 points, 8.6 assists and 6.4 rebounds, along with 2.4 steals on 51.9% shooting and 44.1% from the three-point line. The Rockets have yet to lose with Paul in the lineup, and they’re getting closer to the favorites.
4. Boston Celtics
NBA Title Odds: +1000
The Celtics (24-6) lost in San Antonio and Chicago, but they won in Detroit and at home over Denver. Next, the Celtics will host Utah and Miami, and they’ll visit Memphis and Indiana. The Celtics have allowed 98.0 points per game, which is second in the NBA, but they gave up 100 points or more in three of four games this week and it is no coincidence that they lost two of them. This is not a team that is going to run-and-gun with their opponents most of the time.
5. San Antonio Spurs
NBA Title Odds: +1000
The Spurs (19-9) won at home over Boston and in Phoenix, and they lost in Dallas. This week, the Celtics will host Houston and then visit Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers before starting a short road trip in Utah. Leonard played just 16 minutes in the loss to Dallas, and he had 13 points and rebounds in his return. The Spurs will move him along slowly, but getting Leonard back is a huge boost.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Title Odds: +2500
The Thunder (13-14) won in Memphis in overtime and in Indiana (in Paul George’s return to his former team), and they lost at home to Charlotte. The Thunder have a lot of problems, but one major issue is that they’re a terrible shooting team. They rank 29th in the league by shooting 43.5% from the floor, and they’re tied for 26th at 34.3% from beyond the arc. They have to figure it out soon or else, it could end up leading to the end of the Billy Donovan era in Oklahoma City….or maybe one of their Big Three (likely George or Carmelo Anthony).
7. Toronto Raptors
NBA Title Odds: +5000
The Raptors (18-8) won in Memphis, Sacramento and Phoenix, but they lost on the road to the Clippers. They’ll return home to host Brooklyn and Sacramento, and then head out for road games in Charlotte and Philadelphia. DeMar DeRozan is averaging 25.0 points over his last five games and everyone knows he is a great scorer, but he is also passing the ball at a fantastic rate this season, especially as of late with 7.0 assists over his last five games.
8. Washington Wizards
NBA Title Odds: +5000
The Wizards (15-13) won in Phoenix, but lost on the road to the Clippers and Brooklyn, and they won in Memphis. They’ll host the Clippers this week, along with Cleveland and New Orleans. John Wall is back from knee soreness, and he had 13 points in 28 minutes in his return, which was the win over the Grizzlies. The Wizards stayed afloat without Wall, and hopefully he is fully healthy now.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA Title Odds: +7000
The Timberwolves (16-12) won at home over Dallas, but lost to Philadelphia in overtime at home. They’ll host Sacramento, Phoenix and Portland before heading out to visit Denver. JimmyButler poured in 38 points against the 76ers, but again, their defense failed them as Philadelphia got whatever they wanted in the Timberwolves’ end of the court. It could be down to fatigue as the Timberwolves have five players averaging over 33 minutes a game.
10. Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Title Odds: +7500
The Bucks (15-11) won at home over Dallas and Utah, but they lost in New Orleans. This week, the Bucks will host Chicago and Cleveland, along with a road trip to Houston. Eric Bledsoe has averaged 16.0 points in his last five games as he continues to work his way into the offense for Milwaukee, but his real value comes on the defensive end, where he has been great. The Bucks are a long and athletic team that have the tools to really bother teams at that end of the floor. However, they still have a long way to go before they can be considered a contender in the Eastern Conference.
The 2017-18 NBA is well underway. It’s been a wild offseason already, but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest NBA betting lines right here.
