Congratulations, NBA bettors. We are one step closer to the return of basketball.
Late Friday, the NBA released its restart schedule in Orlando. The season will officially resume on Thursday, July 30 with a star-studded doubleheader between Western Conference teams. The Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans will play in the early game (6:40 p.m ET), followed by the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers in the nightcap (9 p.m. ET). There will be six more games on Friday July 31, led by an Eastern Conference showdown between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics (6:30 p.m. ET).
The lines have been posted for those games by BetMGM.
There are 22 teams traveling to the "bubble" inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Teams will be reporting to Orlando for training camp on either July 7, 8 or 9.
Each team will play 8 regular-season games, which begin July 30 and end Aug. 14. Bettors are in for a treat due to the spaced-out schedule of daily action. Each day consists of roughly six games played on three different courts, with the first beginning as early as 12:30 p.m. ET and the last tipping off at 9 p.m. ET. In other words, as soon as one game ends, the next begins. It's almost like the opening rounds of March Madness. Get ready for two weeks of all-day sweats.
The NBA restart is set to take place in the backdrop of spiking Coronavirus cases in Florida. But that hasn't deterred NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Earlier this week, 16 of 302 NBA players tested positive for the virus, which equates to 5.3%.
"My ultimate conclusion is that we can't outrun the virus, and that this is what we're gonna be living with for the foreseeable future--which is why we designed the campus the way we did," Silver told ESPN. "And so it's a closed network; and while we're not impermeable, we are in essence protected from cases around us. At least that's the model.
"For those reasons, we're still comfortable being in Orlando."
Silver did acknowledge, "If we were to have significant spread of Coronavirus through our community, that ultimately might lead us to stopping."
With just over a month until the games begin, bettors can now spend the coming days and weeks searching for value in the futures market.
Here are the latest odds to win the Eastern Conference, Western Conference and NBA Finals along with the exact NBA Finals matchup at DraftKings.
Eastern Conference
Bucks -165
Celtics + 700
Raptors + 700
Heat + 900
76ers + 900
Pacers + 3300
Nets + 10000
Magic + 10000
Wizards + 15000
Western Conference
Lakers + 160
Clippers + 180
Rockets + 700
Nuggets + 1200
Mavericks + 1400
Jazz + 1400
Thunder + 4000
Pelicans + 6600
Blazers + 8000
Grizzlies + 12000
Sun + 25000
Kings + 25000
Spurs + 25000
Championship
Lakers + 240
Bucks + 250
Clippers + 333
Rockets + 1200
Celtics + 2000
Raptors + 2200
Nuggets + 2500
76ers + 2800
Heat + 3000
Jazz + 3300
Mavericks + 4000
Pacers + 10000
Thunder + 10000
Pelicans + 12500
Blazers + 15000
Grizzlies + 25000
Nets + 30000
Magic + 30000
Wizards + 30000
Suns + 50000
Kings + 50000
Spurs + 50000
Exact Matchup
Bucks vs Lakers + 310
Bucks vs Clippers + 350
Bucks vs Rockets + 1100
Bucks vs Nuggets + 1900
Celtics vs Lakers + 1900
Raptors vs Lakers + 1900
Celtics vs Clippers + 2000
Raptors vs Clippers + 2000
Bucks vs Jazz + 2300
76ers vs Lakers + 2500
Heat vs Lakers + 2500
76ers vs Clippers + 2700
Heat vs Clippers + 2700
You can also bet on which team will earn the 8th and final playoff seed for both conferences. Here are the updated odds at FanDuel.
East 8th seed
Magic -125
Nets + 105
Wizards + 17000
West 8th seed
Grizzlies -160
Pelicans + 380
Blazers + 460
Kings + 850
Spurs + 1700
Suns + 5500
In terms of the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards, it looks as though the race is already over. Here are the updated odds at DraftKings.
MVP
Giannis Antetokuonmpo -5000
LeBron James + 1000
Anthony Davis + 10000
Luka Doncic + 10000
James Harden + 10000
Nikola Jokic + 15000
Damian Lillard + 15000
Kawhi Leonard + 25000
Russell Westbrook + 25000
Rookie of the Year
Ja Morant -10000
Zion Williamson + 1400