NBA teams recently entered the Orlando bubble in preparation for the resumption of the season on July 30. Although the restart is still more than two weeks away, New Jersey sportsbooks already have odds posted for the opening games.
The two games that restart the season will be the Utah Jazz facing the New Orleans Pelicans and the much-hyped clash between the LA Clippers and LA Lakers. Some NBA betting sites have the Lakers as the team to beat this year, while others have the Milwaukee Bucks as the favorites. However, all NJ bookies have the Clippers with the third best odds.
FanDuel New Jersey is one of the sportsbooks that has the Bucks on top:
- Milwaukee Bucks +240
- LA Lakers +260
- LA Clippers +320
- Houston Rockets +1300
- Toronto Raptors +2000
- Boston Celtics +2500
- Denver Nuggets +2500
- Miami Heat +2700
- Philadelphia 76ers +2700
- Utah Jazz +3300
FanDuel has shot out of the gates with NBA odds for the first three days after the league restart. They have the Pelicans as two-point betting favorites over the Jazz, while the Lakers have an edge of 1.5 over the Clippers.
While a slew of players have opted out of the rest of the season during the pandemic, Avery Bradley is the only man missing from the teams in the title race. However, the Lakers covered that loss with the signing J.R. Smith, who has a history of playing with LeBron James.
Quite a few teams in the bubble have also signed players to fill out their extended rosters. However, there were no huge names added, while most of the teams that brought in players are long shots for the title.
One interesting side story is whether the Philadelphia 76ers can replicate their stunning home form down in Florida. When the season was put on hold in March, the Sixers were a league best 29-2 at home but only 10-24 on the road.
The 76ers are tied with the Indiana Pacers for fifth spot in the Eastern Conference and both teams have already qualified for the playoffs. The tie will be broken right off the bat when the Sixers and Pacers face each other on August 1. FanDuel has Philly as five-point favourites for that game.