NBA Futures Odds Update: Minnesota Charges to Favorite Status in West

With plenty of entertaining first-round NBA playoff series this year, one result seemed to fly a bit under the radar. The Minnesota Timberwolves swept the star-studded Phoenix Suns with relative ease. A team that loaded up with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to join Devin Booker was put away in four games.

It was Minnesota’s first series win in 20 years. In fact, it’s only the second time in franchise history that the Timberwolves advanced out of the first round.

Many figured that the T-Wolves wouldn’t cut through the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets as easily. But so far, they have been proven wrong.

After swiping home-court advantage with a win in Game 1 in Denver, one would’ve excused the Wolves for losing Game 2 to head back home at 1-1. But Minnesota used a stifling defense to hold the defending champs to 80 points in a 106-80 rout in Game 2.

With the champs on the ropes, the NBA futures odds have been turned on its head. What was looking like a sure-fire Boston vs. Denver matchup in the NBA Finals is in serious doubt. And it’s installed the Celtics as the heavy favorites to win the title in the NBA futures odds.

The NBA has seen some parity in recent years after it was dominated by dynasties like the Celtics and Lakers in the 1980s, Chicago in the ’90s, LA again in the ’00s, LeBron James-led teams in the first part of the 2010s, then the Golden State Warriors most recently. But since 2019, the list of champions includes Toronto, the Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State in a surprise run, and Denver. Now, unless the Nuggets come back, we will be certain to have another team added to that list.

Here are the current NBA futures odds, with us noting the sportsbook offering the most favorable odds.

Granted, the Celtics didn’t have to face Jimmy Butler this time around. But Boston — with the exception of a historically strong 3-point shooting effort by Miami in Game 2 — trounced the Heat handily this time around. The Celtics avenged an Eastern Conference Finals loss to Miami from last year with the series win.

Most expected an NBA Finals matchup of Boston vs. Denver. While Denver can’t be counted out, it’s time to look at Minnesota’s chances.

This has been Karl-Anthony Towns’ team for a while, but Anthony Edwards is emerging as the star of these playoffs. Edwards and Towns each had 27 points Monday night. And what should be concerning to Denver is that they were held to 80 points even though Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert didn’t play for the Wolves. Gobert, who was on leave for the birth of a child, is expected back in the series.

Looking ahead, Oklahoma City and Dallas don’t seem to have the star power to handle these three players. It adds up to the Timberwolves having a clear path to the NBA Finals.

Boston is a massive favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Odds for the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals stand at -290 at DraftKings. Boston is well-rested and will play a Cleveland team that just knocked off a feisty Orlando team. The Cavs’ Game 7 win was just two days before the series with the Celtics opened up.

On the other side of the East bracket, we have the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. The Knicks’ top-three options are channeling their title-winning pedigree at Villanova in these playoffs. Jalen Brunson led the way with his fourth 40-point effort in a row as the Knicks earned a Game 1 victory at home. He’s only the fourth player in the NBA playoff history to do that. While the Knicks are tough and have — for the most part — been strong in the closing minutes of games so far, it’s hard to see them being able to keep up with Boston.

If Indiana advances to the Eastern Conference Finals, they do have some success against Boston by going 2-3 vs. the C’s in the regular season. But at this point, Boston’s most dangerous opponent is themselves. We did see the Celtics go cold in both the 2022 NBA Finals and 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, but it feels like they’ve learned from those losses so far.

We’ll examine the chances of Dallas or Oklahoma City in our next update before the conference finals. In the meantime, even with the low odds, now is probably the best time to bet on Boston. As for Minnesota, we need to see them actually put away the defending champs before we move on them.