The Complete NBA Futures Odds Picture: February 2022

While you were sleeping, the Dallas Mavericks spent the past month vaulting themselves back into postseason contention, with an outside chance of even hosting a playoff series or two. Meanwhile, one of their main competitors for a top-four seed out West – the Utah Jazz – received some potentially devastating injury news earlier this week that could derail their championship hopes.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers have hit another gear over the past month, and are currently sitting alone atop the Atlantic Division. And then there’s the Washington Wizards, who have won all of four games since we said goodbye to 2021. So, with both the trade deadline and the NBA All-Star Game just around the corner, we’ve highlighted a handful of teams whose stock is rising – or falling – on the NBA’s futures board. 

Stock Up – Mavs and 76ers

Dallas Mavericks Futures Odds

(Current Odds to win the NBA Championship: +5000, BetMGM)

A 12-4 January has done wonders for the potential championship prospects for the Dallas Mavericks (or, at least for the odds related to them). At +5000, the Dallas Mavericks have the eighth-best odds in the Western Conference to win the title, but you can argue that they’re legitimately more talented than at least a couple of the teams with shorter odds, namely the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.

Speaking of the Clippers, Dallas has two dates with them at the end of their six-game homestand that kicks off on Wednesday. Things get noticeably tougher after that as the Mavericks come back from the All-Star break with road clashes against the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers to close out February.

At 29-22, Dallas appears to be hitting their stride after beginning the 2021-22 campaign at 15-17, although it remains to be seen how well they’ll fare with Tim Hardaway Jr. sidelined indefinitely with a broken left foot. Defense will continue to be the key for Jason Kidd’s squad going forward: Despite a slew of injuries, the Mavericks are allowing just 103.4 PPG, the third-best mark in the league.

Philadelphia 76ers Futures Odds 

(Current Odds to win the NBA Championship: +2000, Unibet)

Many Sixers’ fans were close to pushing the panic button when their favorite team was sitting in the middle of the pack with a 16-16 record back on Christmas Day. Since then, Philadelphia has been the hottest team in the Eastern Conference – thanks to an MVP-caliber season from Joel Embiid – and their NBA championship odds have shot back up to +2000.

The most impressive part of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season is the fact that they’ve been able to climb back to top of the standings without mercurial point guard Ben Simmons, who has no intention of ever suiting up for the team again. A Simmons deal may land Philadelphia the on-ball playmaker and/or isolation scorer that could potentially put them over the top, but regardless of what happens at the trade deadline, anyone who has watched the Sixers play this season knows that the team has the ability to go as far as Embiid can physically will them. And, as it stands right now, they’re within shouting distance of the No. 1 overall seed in the East.

There are a few stout litmus tests for the Sixers this month (at Dallas, at Milwaukee, along with home games against Phoenix and Cleveland), but the overall stretch isn’t all that daunting, especially given the eight-day All-Star break.

Stock Down – Jazz and Wizards

Utah Jazz

(Current Odds to win the NBA Championship: +1400, DraftKings)

2022 hasn’t been kind to the Utah Jazz: Not only have they started the year with a 4-12 mark, but word came down on Monday that sharpshooting guard Joe Ingles will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Although Ingles (34.7 3PT%) hasn’t been as proficient from beyond the arc as in years past, his absence will be a huge blow for a team that currently leads the league in three-pointers. 

Utah’s championship odds peaked between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day thanks to separate six- and eight-game winning streaks that ran their record to 26-9. These days, you’ll find them around +1400, which is exactly where they were back in the preseason. The Jazz have legit aspirations to make a deep run in the postseason even without Ingles, so expect them to be busy come next week’s trade deadline. 

On the plus side, seven of Utah’s nine games this month are at home. The bad news? Most of those nine games come against the league’s best, including Golden State, Brooklyn, Denver, and Dallas, with a month-ending visit to Phoenix thrown in for good measure.

Washington Wizards Futures Odds

(Current Odds to win the NBA Championship: +30000, DraftKings)

Where do we even begin with the Washington Wizards? There are rumors of locker room discord as Spencer Dinwiddie recently tried – and failed – to provide veteran leadership to a young team. There’s the recent benching of center Daniel Gafford, who has arguably been one of Washington’s more productive players this season. And there are the constant trade rumors surrounding Bradley Beal, who’ll also happen to miss at least the next two games with a sprained left wrist.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

In all seriousness, the Wizards’ 10-3 start feels like it happened a lifetime ago. Washington is 10-18 over the last two months, and is currently riding a five-game losing skid with a brutal two-game road trip to both Milwaukee and Philadelphia to kick off the week. Once they head back to D.C., the Wizards will host Phoenix, Miami and Brooklyn all over the span of six days.

Safe to say, the clock has struck midnight on any potential Cinderella run that Washington may have imagined back in October. The Wizards’ preseason championship odds of +15000 were fairly long to begin with – now, they’re bunched together on the far end of the spectrum along with the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers. At least there’s the NBA Draft to look forward to.