The Miami Heat are the favorites to win the 2012 NBA championship.
The Miami Heat didn’t look like the best team in the regular season or in the NBA Finals, but bookmakers still see Miami’s Big Three as the biggest threat to walk away as champions next season.
Cantor Race and Sports released its odds to win the 2012 NBA championship and have the Heat as the overwhelming favorite at +200. The Chicago Bulls, who finished with the best record in the regular season but lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference, are the second choice at +600.
The freshly crowned Dallas Mavericks along with the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder are in the next group at +700. The Lakers, who had won two straight titles before getting swept out of the postseason by the Mavs, enter next season with a different coach on the sidelines and a 33-year-old Kobe Bryant.
Rounding out the odds for other potential title contenders: Boston Celtics 8/1, San Antonio Spurs 15/1, Orlando Magic 20/1, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks 30/1, Portland Trail Blazers 30/1, New Orleans Hornets 40/1, Memphis Grizzlies 40/1, Atlanta Hawks 50/1, Philadelphia 76ers 60/1.
And here’s a look at the list of longshot bets: New Jersey Nets 60/1, Los Angeles Clippers 75/1, Houston Rockets 100/1, Milwaukee Bucks 100/1, Indiana Pacers 100/1, Golden State Warriors 100/1, Utah Jazz 100/1, Phoenix Suns 100/1, Sacramento Kings 100/1, Charlotte Bobcats 100/1, Cleveland Cavaliers 100/1, Washington Wizards 100/1, Detroit Pistons 200/1, Minnesota Timberwolves 300/1, Toronto Raptors 300/1.