NBA Betting Odds: Warriors, Hawks, Cavs Favorites To Win 2015 Finals?

Cavs Warriors — The Warriors and Cavaliers are favored to meet in the 2015 NBA Finals. Reuters/Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The 2014-2015 NBA season is more than halfway completed, and the chances of a team winning its first championship in decades, or even ever, continue to increase. While LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (30-20) are still the favorites in the East, they no longer have the best NBA Finals odds, and they are receiving some serious competition from other teams in their conference.

Through 47 games, the Golden State Warriors (39-8) have the league’s best record and the best betting odds to win the title. Stephen Curry is a leading MVP candidate, averaging 23.6 points, 8.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game on 48.9 percent field-goal shooting. Klay Thompson is one of the league’s most improved players, scoring 22.4 points per game, more than six points higher than his career average at the beginning of the season. The Warriors haven’t won a title since 1975.

It’s no surprise that the Cavaliers have such good odds, since they began the season as the favorites in the NBA. They won’t have an easy time reaching the Finals, though, considering they are tied for the fourth seed in the East. After falling under .500, Cleveland has gone on an 11-game winning streak.

The Atlanta Hawks (41-9) have proven to be Cleveland’s biggest competition. Many experts didn’t even predict them to make the playoffs in the offseason, and 12 teams had better odds than the Hawks a month and a half into the season. After 50 games, the team only trails the Warriors and Cavs, seeing their odds catapult from 40/1 to 7/2 in just seven weeks. The Hawks haven’t been to the NBA Finals since they played in St. Louis, winning the championship in 1958.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (25-24) have the best championship odds of any team that isn’t currently in the playoffs. Only eight teams have better listed odds, even though the Thunder find themselves in 10th place in the West. The team has gone 20-12 since Kevin Durant returned from his offseason injury.

The Hawks aren’t the only team that has seen their odds skyrocket. The Detroit Pistons (19-31) might not make the playoffs, but the fact that they are even in postseason contention is impressive, considering how they started the season. The team has won 14 of their last 22 games, putting themselves in position to win the eighth seed. Their odds have improved from 5000/1 to 150/1.

Four teams no longer have betting odds listed because they are so far out of the race. The Los Angeles Lakers (13-36), New York Knicks (10-39), Minnesota Timberwolves (9-40) and Philadelphia 76ers (11-39) don’t have a chance to win the title. After trading for the No.1 pick in each of the last two drafts, Minnesota has the best odds of getting the top selection this year.

Below are the complete NBA Finals betting odds, courtesy of Bovada.lv.

Golden State Warriors 3/1

Cleveland Cavaliers 7/2

Atlanta Hawks 7/1

San Antonio Spurs 5/2

Chicago Bulls 10/1

Memphis Grizzlies 10/1

Dallas Mavericks 12/1

Los Angeles Clippers 14/1

Oklahoma City Thunder 16/1

Houston Rockets 20/1

Portland Trail Blazers 25/1