Boston Celtics remain the betting favorite in NBA ahead of big weekend

The Milwaukee Bucks are riding a 16-game win streak and the Boston Celtics continue to play well as the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference has started to heat up.

With the calendar flipping to March, the Bucks sit atop the conference standings with a 45-17 overall record. They haven’t lost a game since Jan. 21, when they suffered a 114-102 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Celtics, who put together an impressive win streak of their own earlier in the year, are in second place in the East with a 45-18 overall record. Boston is 8-2 over its last 10 games, and waiting for Milwaukee to slip up while being 0.5 games back.

Despite all this, the futures market remains the same with the Celtics considered the betting favorite in the NBA. Oddsmakers still believe the team that fell in the NBA Finals last year is the team to bet on. Boston is priced at +310 to win the championship at Caesars Sportsbook. The Phoenix Suns (+450), Bucks (+475), Denver Nuggets (+700) and Los Angeles Clippers (+950) are the only other team listed shorter than 10/1 in that market.

Boston has the best odds to win the East, too, with a +130 offering at Caesars. The Bucks might lead the standings, but oddsmakers have a +185 value on them to win the conference for the second time in three years. The Philadelphia 76ers are +475 to win the East, while the Cleveland Cavaliers come in at +950. 

Elsewhere in the futures market, Boston point guard Malcolm Brogden is the favorite to be named NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year with a -230 price tag in the market. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is also second in the Coach of the Year race at +175, trailing only Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings and his odds of -115.

The Celtics can boost their standing in these futures markets by having a strong weekend with two nationally-televised matchups. Boston will welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town on Friday before playing host to the New York Knicks on Sunday. Both games will be televised on ESPN.

Boston opened as a 10.5-point favorite over Brooklyn at Caesars. The Celtics are 32-29 against the spread this season, including 18-14 ATS when playing at home. They have only covered two spreads over their last five games, with one of them being against the Detroit Pistons as a 12-point favorite.

While we don’t know the spread yet for Sunday’s game, Boston was laying -8.5 in its home meeting with New York on Jan. 26. The Knicks eventually earned a 120-117 victory in overtime during that game, and they have been playing better of late, so chances are the number will be a bit different come Sunday.