Sweet, the NBA is coming back with 22 teams getting a golden ticket to restart the 2019-20 season on July 31. That’s plenty of time to get your NBA betting ducks in a row.
The NBA Championship odds were refreshed to feature those 22 clubs - 13 in the West and nine in the East - but where do we start when it comes to capping the Association’s comeback?
We run down the NBA restart format and look at each team, their odds to win the 2020 NBA title and how they performed against the NBA odds (against the spread and Over/Under) before the COVID-19 shutdown.
When does the 2019-20 NBA season restart?
The NBA plans to restart its 2019-20 season on Friday, July 31 when the qualifying 22 teams tip off an eight-game regular-season finale at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida. From there, the top eight teams in each conference will advance to the NBA Playoffs.
What is the NBA play-in tournament?
Should there be four or fewer points separating the No. 8 and No. 9 teams in the standings for each conference, there will be a play-in tournament between those eight and nine seeds. The format is a best-of-two series, with the No. 9 team needing to win two games to bump the No. 8 team out and qualify for the postseason.
Looking at the current standings in the East, the six top teams have secured playoff spots, leaving only two postseason passes for three remaining teams. The Brooklyn Nets are seventh, followed by the Orlando Magic in eighth and the Washington Wizards as the nine seed.
There are also just two remaining playoff spots in the West, with the top six teams in the conference already securing passage to the tournament. The Dallas Mavericks are seventh, followed by the Memphis Grizzlies in eighth, leaving five other Western Conference teams to fight their way into the Top 8.
Are the NBA Playoffs different?
Nope. The NBA Playoffs will stick with 16 teams (Top 8 from each conference) and a best-of-seven format for all rounds: conference quarters, conference semis, conference finals, and NBA Finals.
NBA Eastern Conference betting overview
Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, Miami, Indiana and Philadelphia are all locked into the postseason, so motivation during their eight-game restart schedule should be monitored. Brooklyn is an interesting team to watch outside of those six contenders, due to the possibility of getting star guard Kyrie Irving back, to go with a roster that also currently has Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert.
The Celtics were the best bet against the NBA point spreads before the shutdown while also paying out for Under bettors, while the Heat topped the total most often as the best Over team in the East.
| Seed | Team | NBA Title Odds | Win/Loss | ATS Record | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | +240 | 53-12 | 36-29-0 (55.4%) | 30-34-1 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | +2,400 | 46-18 | 35-28-1 (55.6%) | 34-29-1 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | +2,000 | 43-21 | 38-23-3 (62.3%) | 30-34-0 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | +2,700 | 41-24 | 33-30-2 (52.4%) | 39-25-1 |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | +10,000 | 39-26 | 34-28-3 (54.8%) | 35-29-1 |
| 6 | Philadelphia 76ers | +2,700 | 39-26 | 28-33-4 (45.9%) | 34-30-1 |
| 7 | Brooklyn Nets | +6,000 | 30-34 | 31-33-0 (48.4%) | 31-32-1 |
| 8 | Orlando Magic | +25,000 | 30-35 | 31-32-2 (49.2%) | 33-29-3 |
| 9 | Washington Wizards | +25,000 | 24-40 | 32-30-2 (51.6%) | 37-26-1 |
NBA Western Conference betting overview
The two L.A. teams, Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City and Houston already made the playoff cut and Dallas looks like a lock to secure a spot as well. Memphis has a 3.5-game buffer between it and Portland at No. 9, and New Orleans is hovering at No. 10. The Pelicans at 12/1 are certainly priced like they're going to make the cut with Zion Williamson drawing plenty of attention.
The Thunder were the best bet against the spread in the NBA before the pandemic, while the Spurs made money for Over backers and the Rockets stayed Under more than any team in the Association.
| Seed | Team | NBA Title Odds | Win/Loss | ATS Record | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | +270 | 49-14 | 35-27-1 (56.5%) | 30-33-0 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Clippers | +340 | 44-20 | 35-29-0 (54.7%) | 29-34-1 |
| 3 | Denver Nuggets | +2,500 | 43-22 | 29-32-4 (47.5%) | 30-34-1 |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | +2,900 | 41-23 | 30-32-2 (48.4%) | 33-31-0 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | +10,000 | 40-24 | 40-24-0 (62.5%) | 30-33-1 |
| 6 | Houston Rockets | +1,200 | 40-24 | 29-35-0 (45.3%) | 28-36-0 |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | +3,600 | 40-27 | 35-29-3 (54.7%) | 40-27-0 |
| 8 | Memphis Grizzlies | +21,000 | 32-33 | 34-30-1 (53.1%) | 30-35-0 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | +16,000 | 29-37 | 27-37-2 (42.2%) | 37-29-0 |
| 10 | New Orleans Pelicans | +12,000 | 28-36 | 33-29-2 (53.2%) | 36-28-0 |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | +25,000 | 28-36 | 33-29-2 (53.2%) | 34-30-0 |
| 12 | San Antonio Spurs | +21,000 | 27-36 | 25-37-1 (40.3%) | 38-24-1 |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | +25,000 | 26-39 | 29-35-1 (45.3%) | 33-32-0 |
Odds courtesy of FanDuel
