The Golden State Warriors are favored to win the next two NBA championships.
The Warriors are -165 favorites over the Boston Celtics (+145) at the Westgate SuperBook to win the NBA Finals, which starts Thursday, and the 6-1 favorites to win the title next season.
“They’ve got the veterans that have won the title before, but they also have a whole crew of young players that have been integrated into this,” Westgate NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said. “Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins have done well in the playoffs, and they also have (Jonathan) Kuminga and (Moses) Moody.
“If the young guys continue to grow, we figure the Warriors are the starting point.”
The Los Angeles Clippers are the 7-1 second choice to win the 2023 title with two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard expected back after missing the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL.
“If they return to health, we’ll see those expectations on the Clippers we saw out of the Warriors this year,” Sherman said. “They made the late-season trade to get Norman Powell and (Robert) Covington to add to Kawhi and the other pieces they have.
“They have a pretty decent roster and are defensive-oriented, kind of like Boston this year.”
The Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are each 8-1 to win the title next season, followed by the Phoenix Suns at 10-1 and the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers at 14-1.
“I expect Boston to return their same roster. After a year under this style of play, there’s no reason they won’t sustain it,” Sherman said. “I expect the Bucks to be contenders. (Khris) Middleton missing the playoffs hurt them.
“Brooklyn went through health issues last year with Kyrie Irving.”
The Westgate already took a $1,000 wager on the Warriors to win the 2023 title at 6-1 odds and a $2,000 bet on the 76ers at 16-1.
Futures bets
Boston was as high as 150-1 at the Westgate to win the 2022 NBA championship. But the book took only one $5 bet to win $750 at those odds, and only one $2 wager at 100-1.
Golden State opened at 8-1 and was never higher than 9-1 at the Westgate, where a bettor made a $50,000 wager to win $225,000 on the Warriors at +450.
“We’re a small winner on Golden State and a large winner on Boston,” Sherman said.
Game 1
The Warriors opened as 3-point favorites over the Celtics at the Westgate in Game 1 before quickly moving to -3½. The total opened at 210½ before ticking up to 211½. Golden State is -160 on the money line, and Boston is +140.
Sherman said the Westgate took a sharp bet on the Celtics at +145 on the money line.
“The public is laying the Warriors,” he said.
The Match
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are -210 favorites over Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen (+180) in the sixth edition of The Match on Wednesday at Wynn Golf Club.
Sherman said action on the 12-hole event — which will include match play with a modified alternate shot format — has been minimal.
“I figured it would take a hit not having professionals involved in it,” he said. “There’s just not much interest. If you had Tiger (Woods), Phil (Mickelson) or any of those other professionals involved, there would be a lot more interest.
“Rodgers is the anchor point. He’s done well in these amateur celebrity tournaments. Whichever team he was on was going to be the favorite.”
Nadal-Djokovic
Rafael Nadal has won 109 of 112 matches at the French Open, with two of his losses to Novak Djokovic, who defeated Nadal in the semifinals of the 2021 tournament. Nadal has won 13 French Open titles and Djokovic two.
Djokovic is a -220 favorite over Nadal (+190) on Tuesday in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at [email protected]. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
