by ASA, Inc.
Sunday, Oct 22, 2023Favorite- Boston Celtics (+380)
Currently oddsmakers have four teams (Celtics, Bucks, Nuggets, Suns) as contenders for the NBA title in 2024. After winning the second most games in the regular season last year, Boston lost in the conference finals to the Heat after almost pulling off the first reverse sweep in NBA history. Brad Stevens did nothing but improve the roster during the offseason, adding Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis while keeping the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen brown. Veterans Derrick White and Al Horford will also play crucial roles. Boston was top five in both scoring offense (117.9ppg) and scoring defense (111.4ppg) last year giving them the best point differential in the NBA. This balance is crucial over an 82 game season and is a huge reason why we feel Boston is the favorite to win its 18th NBA title. Milwaukee is their biggest competition in the East but the Bucks were gentlemen's swept out of the first round last year leading to some major changes. Damian Lillard was brought in to be an upgrade over Jrue Holiday, but Lillard has missed 108 games in the past four seasons, and at 33 years old he is at the latter stages of his career.
Darkhorse- Dallas Mavericks (+2500)
This pick really comes down to two simple factors. Can the Mavericks do enough in the regular season to make it to the playoffs, and can Luka and Kyrie stay healthy in the playoffs to make a run. Dallas might have the highest ceiling yet the lowest floor of any team in pro basketball. Good thing ceiling is all that matters in the preseason. Role players Tim Hardaway, Grant Willimas, Maxi Kleber, and Seth Curry need to take some pressure off of the two star guards. Luka is a legitimate top 5 player in the league and has the second best odds to win MVP. He will carry a heavy offensive load once again in 2023 but the Mavericks need to be more efficient both on offense and defense around Luka. Dallas had a dead even (0.0) point differential last year and will need Luka and Kyrie to both play like top 10 guards in order to make a run at the title, yet we know they are both capable of doing so.
Longshot- Oklahoma City Thunder (+8500)
OKC has so much young talent and only more coming in future drafts. Even with such youth, they outperformed expectations, moving up the timeline for their rebuild. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads a crew of future stars with the likes of Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgre, and Luguentz Dort. The Thunder were 5th in offense last year and 19th in defense. With further development of their young talent, both areas should improve making OKC a solid playoff candidate. Depending on the progress and chemistry, the sky's the limit for the Thunder. It was not too long ago when we saw a young KD, Russ, and Harden burst onto the superstar scene, cultivating multiple deep playoffs runs. Talent and depth are ample in OKC but they will need to develop a true identity which is tough with some many young, hungry players on the roster. A high ceiling is what is needed to win the NBA title and the Thunder have the potential for that task, it's just a matter of when they will start taking strides towards making deep playoffs runs.
