2023-24 NBA Championship Odds and Expert Predictions

We are past the halfway point for games in the 2023-24 season, but the regular season is on pause until the 22nd, next Thursday night. That's an entire week off or more for teams, and you better believe these guys need it.

Of course, the NFL is more hazardous to your physical health, but the basketballers don't get enough credit for what they put their bodies through. Anybody over 6-foot-6 is going to have back problems, and hooping is brutal on your knees.

With the games on hold for now, we have an opportunity to assess the rest of the regular season and how it will affect the postseason picture. From there, we can do our best with the betting odds given to predict the conference, as well as the Finals.

Doc’s Sports offers NBA picks for every game on our NBA predictions page.

Southwest Division Winner

New Orleans Pelicans: -190

Dallas Mavericks: +145

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the most well-balanced teams on offense in the league, with 7 guys averaging double figures in points. No particular player is getting an insane amount of playing time, either.

The Dallas Mavericks, conversely, are top-heavy, with superstar Luka Doncic doing most of the heavy lifting. The guy is scoring more this season and shooting better from the arc than ever before.

Oh, and he is nearly averaging a triple-double for the season. He is leading the league in points per game and ranks 3rd in assists!

I have to take the value here on the Mavs. They have won their last 6 games and are just one game behind New Orleans at the break.

Pick: Dallas Mavericks (+145)

Central Division Winner

Cleveland Cavaliers: -490

Milwaukee Bucks: +330

Make this one make sense to me. The Milwaukee Bucks are just 3-6 under Doc Rivers thus far in 2024, but give it some time. This team is loaded with talent, and Rivers knows how to win!

They struggle mightily to win on the road, and their interior defense should be a lot more effective than it is.

The Bucks and the Cavs are complete opposites, with Cleveland being one of the best defensive/worst offensive teams in the league, and Milwaukee vice versa. The latter knows they can get a basket when they need it. The former can't say that.

I will take a better offensive group to tighten up on defense in the second half of the season under a new coach they respect before I bet on an overachieving team.

Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (+330)

Eastern Conference Winner

Boston Celtics: +120

Milwaukee Bucks: +300

New York Knicks: +600

Cleveland Cavaliers: +750

Philadelphia 76ers: +1600

Miami Heat: +1600

Free money? Anyone? All jokes aside, the Eastern Conference is a two-horse race, and we are getting plus money on both.

I did just get done talking a big game for the Bucks. And with that roster and head coach, the sky is the limit. I can’t bring myself, though, to stay away from the plus money on a Celtics bet here.

They are surging into the All-Star break with 6 consecutive wins, and Kristops Porzingis has become that all-important third 20-point scorer for them.

While most NBA teams are much better on offense than defense or the other way around, the Boston Celtics rank 5th in the league in both points per game and points allowed. They have lost only 3 games at home all year.

Pick: Boston Celtics (+120)

Finals Winner

Boston Celtics: +260

Denver Nuggets: +440

Los Angeles Clippers: +550

Milwaukee Bucks: +600

Phoenix Suns: +1400

New York Knicks: +1800

I skipped the Western Conference winner betting odds because they are so close at the top. Both the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers were even money to win the West.

If I bet on a team from the West, I will do it to win the Finals. We can get better than 4 or 5 to 1 odds on those two teams. The Phoenix Suns are hanging out down there at (+1400) for those interested in a longshot.

I can’t get off of the Celtics still. Porzingis is helping them defend the basket as they are 2nd in the league in blocks. The scoring differential is the biggest stat of them all. They are outsourcing their opponents by double digits.

That is twice as much as any other team you see listed above.

Pick: Boston Celtics (+260)
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