With the trade deadline behind us and All-Star weekend done and dusted, the focus can now shift to finishing out the NBA regular season. There is still a lot to play for, with teams vying for playoff seeding and trying to avoid the play-in tournament all together. There is still some value to be had in the futures market, so be sure to check out my favorite futures bets for the remainder of the regular season below.
Southeast Division winner – Orlando Magic (-105)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -120.
This seems to be a two-horse race between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat. The Magic have a half game lead in the standings at the moment and have won the season series against the Heat. So even if they end up with the same record, the Magic have the tie breaker. They have also not lived up to expectations so far this season. That can be put down to Franz Wagner missing 25 games. With him back in the lineup we can finally see the full potential of his pairing with Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane. With the Magic having the 19th easiest remaining schedule in the league, they should be able to stay ahead of their rivals en route to a division title.
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To Make the Playoffs – Milwaukee Bucks – Yes (+1400)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +1200
The Milwaukee Bucks find themselves a game and a half outside of the play-in tournament, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the verge of a return that could turn their season around. If everyone stays healthy, he will have much better scoring that he can rely on around him. Kevin Porter Jr. is back in the lineup, which should help this offense tick. In fact, with Porter Jr. in the lineup, the Bucks are above .500 this season.
Additionally, with Cam Thomas and Gary Trent Jr. able to go off at any point too, teams will no longer be able to key in on the Greek Freak. The Bucks might not be the best defensive team in the league, but they should be able to outscore most, especially since they have the 20th easiest strength of schedule. If they can sneak into the play-in tournament they will be hard to knock out considering that against any opponent they will have best player on the floor.
Conference #2 Seed – Eastern Conference – Cleveland Cavaliers (+280)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +250
This is a 3-team race between the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. The Cavaliers have by far the easiest strength of schedule remaining, with theirs ranking 26th. The others have schedules that are 5th and 11th, respectively. James Harden is a major upgrade for the team over Darius Garland for the team as well. In fact, over the last 10 games the Cavaliers have been leading the league in offensive rating and with the easy schedule ahead, they look primed to pick up pace.
On the other side of the ball, the return of Evan Mobley post break should help go along way to improving their defensive efforts. The Cavs are just a game and a half out of the second seed now. I expect them to return to they type of form that had them dominating the Eastern Conference last regular season and make a real surge up the standings. With that in mind, let’s target Cleveland to grab the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference at plus-money odds.
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