The big story in the NBA this week doesn’t even have to do with two teams in the power rankings as the Los Angeles Clippers traded Blake Griffin to Detroit. That moved the Pistons up in the NBA odds, just outside of the top teams. It will be interesting to see whether the Griffin-Andre Drummond-Reggie Jackson trio is good enough to make the Pistons one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference or whether it has minimal impact. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Cleveland Cavaliers as they continue to battle all sorts of dysfunction on and off the court – including bizarre LeBron James-to-Golden State rumors that surfaced this week.
1. Golden State Warriors
NBA Title Odds: -200
The Warriors (40-11) won at home over Minnesota and Boston, but then lost at Utah. They’ll stay on the road to visit Sacramento and Denver before returning home to host Oklahoma City. The Warriors lost to the Jazz by Thursday in a game where they looked completely uninterested, especially on defense, which happens every once in a while to a team that is clearly the class of the league.
2. Houston Rockets
NBA Title Odds: +700
The Rockets (37-13) lost in New Orleans, and then won at home over Phoenix, Orlando and in San Antonio. They’ll head to Cleveland next, along with road games in Brooklyn and Miami. James Harden went off in the win over the Magic, going for 60 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the first 60-point triple-double in NBA history. Eric Gordon (back) and Trevor Ariza (hamstring) continue to be on the sidelines and Chris Paul (groin) is ailing, but Harden continues to put the Rockets on his back.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Title Odds: +750
The Cavaliers (30-20) won at home over Indiana, Detroit and Miami at home, but they lost at Detroit as well. They’ll host Houston and Minnesota this week, while visiting Orlando between those games. The Cavaliers will be without Kevin Love for 6-8 weeks because of a broken hand, while rumors are starting that LeBron James could meet with Golden State as a free agent this summer. The scary part is that this was probably the best week the Cavaliers have had in a while on the court.
4. Boston Celtics
NBA Title Odds: +850
The Celtics (37-15) lost at Golden State, but they won in Denver and at home over New York. They’ll host Atlanta and Portland before travelling to Toronto. The Celtics have been hit by a few injuries as of late as Marcus Smart is out until after the All-Star break with a hand laceration, while Kyrie Irving (quadriceps) and Marcus Morris (hip) are day-to-day. Still, the Celtics have a three-game lead in the Eastern Conference over Toronto and shouldn’t be worried.
5. San Antonio Spurs
NBA Title Odds: +1800
The Spurs (34-20) spent the week at home, losing to Philadelphia and Houston, but they defeated Sacramento and Denver. They’ll host Utah before heading out to Phoenix, Golden State, Utah and Denver. The Spurs continue to be without Kawhi Leonard because of his quadriceps injury, but they have the fifth-best record in the NBA and they’re the best in the league at home with a 22-6 mark.
6. Toronto Raptors
NBA Title Odds: +2000
The Raptors (34-15) lost at home to Utah, then won at home over the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota before losing in Washington. They’ll return home this week to host Portland, Memphis and Boston. As the only team in the NBA that are in the top ten in points scored (third) and points allowed (10th), the Raptors might actually be undervalued right now due to their history in the postseason. But for now, the Raptors are playing excellent basketball.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA Title Odds: +2500
The Timberwolves (33-22) lost at Golden State, then won at home over Brooklyn before losing at Atlanta and Toronto. They won at home over Milwaukee and the Timberwolves will host New Orleans before visiting Cleveland. Karl-Anthony Towns put up 19.4 points and 12.8 rebounds over his last five games, and he now has an NBA-high 46 double-doubles. More importantly, Towns is locked in on the defensive end and that has sparked the Timberwolves over the last few weeks, along with the play of Jimmy Butler.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Title Odds: +2500
The Thunder (30-22) won at home over Washington and Philadelphia and they won in Detroit, but they also lost in Washington and Denver. They’ll host New Orleans and the Lakers before heading to Golden State. While Russell Westbrook continues to put up his numbers, Paul George has been on fire lately, averaging 29.2 points on 53.9% shooting and 46.3% from three-point land over his last five games. The Thunder will have their bumps in the road this season, but things are looking up and this isn’t a team you want to deal with in the playoffs.
9. Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Title Odds: +4000
The Bucks (27-23) won at home over Brooklyn and Philadelphia as well as in Chicago, but they lost in Minnesota. Giannis Antetokounmpo twisted his ankle against the Timberwolves, and he could join Malcolm Brogdon (quadriceps) and Eric Bledsoe (ankle) on the sidelines. However, Jabari Parker could be back in action this week after recovering from his injury. That would be a huge boost for the Bucks, although given his injury history with his knees, the Bucks should bring Parker along very slowly. They also need to keep Antetokounmpo as healthy as they possibly can.
10. Miami Heat
NBA Title Odds: +5500
The Heat (29-22) started the week at home, losing to Sacramento and beating Charlotte, then went on the road to beat Dallas and lose to Cleveland. They’ll visit Philadelphia and Detroit, then they’ll return home to host Orlando and Houston. The Heat have snuck into the race in the Eastern Conference, where they are fourth in the standings right now. If you would have told Miami fans that they would be here, they would be ecstatic. That being said, Pat Riley is still in charge and you can’t count him out of making any big moves before the trade deadline, so they’re a team that you should be keeping an eye on.
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.
