Boston Celtics remain the betting favorite after NBA’s All-Star Break

Everybody got a chance to catch their breath during the NBA’s All-Star Break, including players, coaches and bettors. It is now full speed ahead for the final 20-plus games over the next several weeks to close out the 2022-23 regular season.

It won’t be long until we are crowning our new NBA champion in June, and the Boston Celtics hope they have the honors after a runner-up finish a year ago. Based on their play before the break, the Celtics are in a good position to do just that.

Boston leads the Eastern Conference (as well as the entire league) with a 42-17 record. The Milwaukee Bucks are a half-game behind them, with the Philadelphia 76ers (three games back) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (five games back) rounding out the top four in the East.

Thanks to the team’s strong play since the season began, Boston has been the betting favorite in the NBA futures markets for much of the season. The Celtics are now +280 to win the championship, per Caesars Sportsbook, with the Bucks (+440) and Phoenix Suns (+450) serving as their biggest threats.

In the Eastern Conference market, Boston is +115 to make it back to the NBA Finals after losing to the Golden State Warriors last year. The Bucks, who are two years removed from a championship run of their own, are priced at +185 to win the East. The 76ers and Cavs are listed at +650 and +1100, respectively.

The betting odds give Boston almost no shot of losing its three-game lead in the Atlantic Division. The Celtics are -1800 to win the division at FanDuel, while the 76ers come in at 11/1 and the Brooklyn Nets are sitting at 120/1.

From a team perspective, the Celtics are sitting in a good position to accomplish their goals, assuming there isn’t a slip in play after the break. Boston has the sixth-best cover rate in the league with a 33-26 record against the spread this season. The Celtics are 29-28-2 to the over as well.

The Celtics will begin a three-game road trip after the break, starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers. FanDuel makes Boston an 8.5-point favorite in that game, with an over/under of 234.5.

After that, Boston will have a marquee matchup with Philadelphia on Saturday before wrapping up the road trip with a showdown against the New York Knicks on Monday. So far this season, the Celtics are 15-13 against the spread away from home and have had 18 of those 28 games finish under the closing point total.

Assuming the Celtics can hit the ground running after the break, we could see their odds continue to shorten across the board ahead of the postseason.