What oddsmakers are predicting for the rest of the Celtics’ season
DraftKings is giving the Celtics decent odds to win the Eastern Conference.
for the remainder of the NBA’s regular season is officially set.
The 22 teams invited to finish out the regular season in Orlando found out the eight games they’ll each play to determine who will make the playoffs and the seeding for the playoffs.
The Celtics start by facing the Milwaukee Bucks on July 31. They’ll then face the Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, and Washington Wizards in that order to close out the regular season.
Boston is 11-5 against those opponents this season and has the fifth-easiest schedule, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, which could help the Celtics in their chase for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They’re currently three games back of the Raptors for that spot, and Toronto has the second-toughest eight-game schedule, according to Reynolds.
While obtaining the second seed looks possible, it is impossible for the Celtics to get the top seed in the East, as they currently trail the Bucks by 9.5 games.
With a stronghold on the rest of the East, oddsmakers like the Bucks’ chances the most to make it to the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference. DraftKings SportsBook has the Bucks’ odds to win the conference set at -165 (meaning you’d have to bet $165 to win $100), giving them a roughly 62 percent chance to win the conference.
The Celtics are tied with the Raptors for the second-best odds to win the East, at 12.5 percent, with DraftKings giving each team +700 odds to win the conference (meaning you’d win $700 if you placed $100). The Philadelphia 76ers and the Heat each have +900 odds to win the East.
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While the Celtics’ odds to win the Eastern Conference title may already seem low to some fans, their odds to win the NBA Finals are much lower. DraftKings lists the Celtics’ odds to win Larry O’Brien trophy at +2000 (which is a little under 5 percent in implied odds), giving them the fifth-best chance to win the championship. DraftKings gives the Los Angeles Lakers (+240) and Bucks (+250) the best odds to win the Finals, with the Los Angeles Clippers (+333) and Houston Rockets (+1200) behind them.
ESPN is projecting similar results for the Celtics. Despite the relatively easy schedule, ESPN’s predictive real plus-minus only gives the Celtics a 12.8 percent chance to grab the second seed in the East. However, it gives the Celtics an 84 percent chance to stay in their current spot as the three seed and only a 3.2 percent chance to fall back to either the fourth or fifth seeds.
ESPN’s predictive RPM is giving the Celtics an 85.3 percent chance to make it to the second round of the playoffs, a 41.9 percent chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals, a 16.1 percent chance to make the Finals, and a 7.8 percent chance to win it all.
ESPN’s predictive RPM is similar to DraftKings in that they’re giving high odds to the Bucks to make it to the Finals (60.1 percent), but it is also giving the Bucks the best projection to win the title at 42.5 percent. Following the Bucks are the Lakers (19.9 percent), Raptors (12.2 percent), and Clippers (9.3 percent), with the Celtics rounding out the top five.
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