2021 NBA Eastern Conference Winner: Futures Bet Check-In

Best Bet

Philadelphia 76ers To Win 2021 NBA Eastern Conference (+600)

The Sixers have the best record in the East and are playing dominant basketball with Joel Embiid back in the fold at full health. The team occasionally will rest him but that is no concern, all that matters is making it through the grueling 7-game series to come.

While it may seem foolish to bet against the Nets who feature three Top-20 NBA players and legitimate depth support given their recent acquisitions of LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin, it’s hard to imagine this bunch of veterans who all miss time sporadically and fail to defend properly winning the East. Moreover, betting them at minus-odds is hard to stomach.

Getting Philadelphia, a team that was a lucky shot from advancing possibly to the Finals in 2019, at +600 is very, very appealing, Yes, this team has struggled to mesh given their growing pains with the pairing of Ben Simmons and Embiid, but this year they have seemingly found the fix thanks to general manager Daryl Morey. The additions of Danny Green and Seth Curry have provided three-point shooting specialization that will play in June. Not to mention, Tobias Harris is playing the best basketball of his career and is taking good, comfortable shots with the newfound spacing.

Viable Betting Options

Milwaukee Bucks To Win 2021 NBA Eastern Conference (+350)

Cannot go wrong with this line.

The Bucks should honestly be the favorites with Sixers and then Nets right behind but the market is weird right now. Giannis Antetokuonmpo is still a top-3 player in the sport but has missed time tending to a knee issue that should not hinder him from playing in the postseason. This missed time is likely to preserve his health and keep those legs as close to 100 percent as possible given that there is no need for home court and the Bucks can handle teams with their other two stars, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton.

The Bucks have flailed in the playoffs due to their lack of perimeter shooting and other teams’ ability to hinder Giannis’s dominance in the paint but this year, that will be a much tougher ask with so much more to focus on. The addition of Bobby Portis has been stellar for their second unit along with the development of Pat Connaughton into a much better shooter.

Milwaukee is arguably the best team in basketball at full strength and will be a force this time around.

Boston Celtics To Win 2021 NBA Eastern Conference (+1600)

This is the only long-shot worth considering. The Celtics have been so mediocre this season but that is without Marcus Smart for a month of the year and with Kemba Walker resting on back-to-backs. Smart is back and at 100 percent now and come playoff time, Walker should play every game.

Boston has won 5 of their past 6 games and the expanded role of Robert “TimeLord" Williams is providing the exact thing they’ve missed for years, an athletic big man who can run the floor, protect the rim and play clean-up duty. The Celtics lineup is built around their guards and wings making it typically small on the court but Williams mitigates a good bit of that. The addition of Evan Fournier was looking very savvy over his last two games prior to COVID protocols keeping him away from the team and by the playoffs, he should be back in the fold playing a prominent role.

We’ve seen the Celtics make noise in the past when they shouldn’t have while beating teams they were not supposed to according to the odds. Why not this year with all of the talents at their disposal?

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