The Heat lost just three games during the first three rounds against their playoff opponents in the East en route to an NBA Finals appearance this year, eliminating three of the top four seeds in the conference in the process. However, Miami’s impressive postseason run hasn’t made the team the favorite to come out of the East in 2021, according to oddsmakers.
At BetOnline.ag, the Heat are listed at +450 to win the Eastern Conference in ’21, meaning you’d win $450 on a $100 wager should Miami repeat as conference champs. The Bucks (+375), Celtics (+425), and Nets (+425) are currently considered more likely to represent the East in next year’s NBA Finals.
The rest of the odds to win the East next year are as follows, per BetOnline.ag:
- Raptors: +750
- Sixers: +1200
- Bulls: +3300
- Hawks: +3300
- Pacers: +3300
- Wizards: +3300
- Magic: +10000
- Cavaliers: +12500
- Knicks: +12500
- Pistons: +12500
- Hornets: +17500
It’s obviously way too early to forecast the outcome of the 2020/21 season with any confidence. The draft and free agency are still to come, and we don’t know yet which teams will make major splashes on the trade market. If Victor Oladipo is dealt from Indiana to another Eastern team, for example, it could significantly change the conference’s outlook for next season.
Still, anticipated roster moves are at least somewhat baked into BetOnline’s current odds — if the Pacers had a ton of cap room to use this offseason and Oladipo and Myles Turner weren’t viewed as potential trade candidates, it’s a safe bet that they wouldn’t be listed alongside lottery teams Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington on the list above.
So, with the caveat that plenty could change in the coming months to alter the outlook of the East for the 2020/21 season, we want to get your thoughts on the early projections from oddsmakers.
Should the Bucks be considered the favorites to win the East? Should the Heat be listed higher than fourth among Eastern teams? Are the Nets or other teams being overvalued? Are the Pacers or other teams being undervalued? Which team do you like to come out of the East next season? And which club do you view as the best value pick based on the odds listed above?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your early forecast for the Eastern Conference in 2020/21!
Heat at +450? Nets at +425 is a joke, total sucker bet.
The Casual sports fan might think Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, wow, they should win the East.. I’ll bet that. They don’t know what we know.
According to the article
1 Bucks
2 Celtics
2 Nets
4 Heat
Nets have the most valuable assets
Heat have cap room
Odds
Warriors at 3
Celtics Nets Heat at 5
Warriors are already top 3 title contender
According to betonline
Nuggets at 9
Rockets at 10
They are not comparable to the worst team Warriors in 2020
Hornets as the 15th team in the East is surprising. High draft pick, another year of continuity with their roster and coaching staff, and cap space. Think they will be better than NYK, DET, and CLE. Probably better than Washington too depending on Wall’s health
I think Washington might surprise next year. Even a Wall at 85% is better than what they had this season. In addition you have another year of experience for Hachimura, who looked decent as a rookie. If they could get a decent big man or wing with #9, through pick or deal, they could be a 5-8 playoff seed in the East.
There is so much Wall hate based around his contract…Washington will very likely be playoff bound next year if they get Wall and Beal healthy.
Agree with this. Great coaching and promising young players. I think they are a better all around team than a lot of the bottom teams in the East. Devonte Graham took a huge jump this year.
The Magic are way too high, Isaac will be out for the whole season and he is their best player. The Nets should be the favorites, I am holding Durant and Kyrie to a high standard and it’s Finals or Bust for them.
That
BTW Vucevic is by far, very far the best player in ORL!
At those odds, if I as a betting man I would clearly put $100 on both the Pacers and the Magic. No I don’t truly believe that either will win in 2020-21, but I do think that the odds are too good to pass up. If the season was simulated 32 times, I have no doubt that the Pacers would win the East at least once. With the odds at 33-1, it’s a very good chance. Same with the Magic at 100-1. If you had the money to lose, those would be great bets.
As we have seen before odds mean nothing. Clippers were favorites all year and how did that work out?
As a fan of an Eastern Conference team it is kind of depressing thinking it will be hard for any team from the East to win the title. It really feels like the Heat, Celtics, Bucks, and Raptors are all one key piece away from winning a title vs the West. Maybe the Heat are exceptions if they get enough player growth and better luck with health.
The only other two teams are the Nets and Sixers. The Nets are a huge question mark on what they will be with Durant coming back and the Sixers seem to be the biggest enigma in basketball. I still favor the west a lot more with the Lakers having the potential to add more depth, the possibility the Clippers can get things together, and possible growth with the Nuggets and Mavericks and the wildcard of a more healthy Warriors team. This is all with the caveat of how teams stand now and any big trades can change things.
Giannis makes MIL the top team, no discussion there.
BRK on paper have the best roster, so they should be high, but they have so many question marks on how they will perform.
PHI keeping the Simmons/Embiid tandem & a few touches must be up there also, if they can put it together.
That should be the top tier in the EC… then the pretenders, will be…
BOS if they can get someone big & good can jump tot the top.
TOR is on its way down whatever they do.
MIA don’t think they will do as well next season, we will see.
IND is hard to measure, as we don’t know about Oladipo & Turner, what they do with them, or get for them can put them at the top tier, keep them at this 2nd tier or get them down.
Also I would like to see ATL making the playoffs, Trae is the best shooter I have ever seen in the league, he is so very exciting to watch, also JC is an absolute monster, adding Capela & hoping for growth from Huerter, Reddish & Hunter & their top pick this year, wow future belongs to the Hawks!
Not enough D for me on Hawks again
How are the Celtics pretenders and the 76ers champions? Sure, the Celtics lack size, but their chemistry and roster structure is much more sound than Philadelphia’s.
Boston was just a couple losses away from the Finals and has a sound core capable of postseason success. Theis stepped up and they could always bring back someone like Baynes or Leonard to set up a committee. Besides, they also have the 14th pick.
The Sixers have an elite duo in Simmons and Embiid, yet have shown no signs of growth since 2017/18. We have yet to see how Rivers coaches this team and I still do not see a viable point guard on the roster. The Horford and Harris contracts could handicap their financial flexibility.
I could say the same about Brooklyn. Durant is coming back from major surgery at 32, Irving is not the most team-friendly player, and Nash is a new coach. They may be stacked with potential, but I will stick with safer and more cohesive teams in Miami and Boston.
I do agree the Hawks have a bright future though. They could be this year’s Mavericks if all goes right
Boston and Miami…pretenders…plz…Bucks and Philly are on the brink of a blow up if they fail again…Brooklyn anything might happen…but Brooklyn is just a waiting room for KD to see who the next superteam will be…Hawks aren’t going to win if Trae thinks he is a video game version of Steph Curry…
Also the offseason hasn’t even begun yet and this one will see a lot of big moves for sure!
The team intriguing me is the Cavs. With Love, Drummond and Sexton, I think they could sneak the 8th seed. Maybe a chance Indiana and Orlando lose more games. I think they need to start Sexton and Kevin Porter Jr as their guards. Garland and Sexton way to short to defend well.
That is the key. I would bet any long shot that I was fairly sure would make the playoffs. Once the playoffs start, anything can happen. 8 seeds have beaten 1 seeds before. Not often, but if you are getting 100-1 odds, take that bet. The Sixers nearly won the East as an 8 seed right before the Process began.
Yeah I think its a good bet for playoffs. But I think crucial Porter plays at the 2.
I really like how Black Ace57 breaks things down. Usually you would say that the defending champs, in this case the Lakers, are the team to beat until somebody knocks them off. This still holds true. I believe it’s also true that in the East that the Miami Heat should be considered the best team until they are beaten in the playoffs. If the Lakers or the Heat do not make the finals next year then they should both at least come very close.
Yes, there is discussion about the Bucks being the top team. A lot of discussion. Everybody saw what just happened to them. How does that make them more of a sure thing for next year? Wouldn’t that raise more doubts if anything?
The Warriors might be a top power again, but it is at least possible that they will get off to a slow start on the way to whatever they eventually become. Lots of hope in many cities for next year!
The Bulls and Hawks so high!— there’s too much confidence in a regime change, and ATL is too young still. They will be caught.
I’m assuming Miami uses it’s capspace to bring it back on 1+1s and lock up Bam. MIL will make a couple big trades.
1-15: MIA, MIL, BOS, PHL, BRK, TOR, WAS, IND, playoffs.
CHI, CLE, ORL, DET, CHA, NYK, ATL. MIL to finals. Sure to change!
Zach Lavine has terrible basketball IQ. Markkanen will never be a franchise player. Bulls have no talent.
If I was going to bet for a team to win the East based on the odds I would have the Raptors.