C's behind Bucks in standings, betting market

The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are currently the only two teams with 50 wins on the year as we close in on April. With the start of the postseason just weeks away, the Celtics are 2.5 games back of the Bucks for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

Boston is 50-23, 0.5 games up on the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. The Bucks pace the East with a 52-20 record and appear to be rounding into form with a 7-3 clip over their last 10 games.

Not only has Milwaukee’s recent hot play had an impact on the top seed in the conference, but the betting odds have also shifted of late. The Bucks recently surpassed the Celtics as the favorite in the futures markets at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Milwaukee is +260 to win the NBA championship, a feat the Bucks accomplished two years ago when they defeated the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. The Celtics, who lost in the NBA Finals last year to the Golden State Warriors, are +330 to finish on top this time around.

For comparison, Boston was priced at +300 around the All-Star break to win the title, according to www.sportsoddshistory.com. This is the team’s best price to win it all since it was valued at +375 back on Dec. 1.

It is worth mentioning that the betting favorite entering the postseason hasn’t actually fared well in recent years. The Warriors, who were favored at +137 entering the playoffs in 2018, won it all by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In 2019, Golden State lost in the NBA Finals after again being priced as the favorite when the postseason began. The Los Angeles Clippers (2020), Brooklyn Nets (2021) and Phoenix Suns (2022) all fell short with a target on their back.

So it could actually be a good thing that the Celtics still have something to prove heading into the home stretch of the regular season. They are +150 to win the East, trailing only the Bucks’ price of +135 to reach the NBA Finals.

An Eastern Conference team is -125 to win the NBA championship this year at Caesars Sportsbook, while a Western Conference squad is priced at +105 in an interesting two-way market.

If you really want to be bold ahead of the playoffs, FanDuel has a championship exacta market. The Celtics are +1900 to defeat the Suns in the NBA Finals and +2500 to lose that particular matchup.

With about 10 games left in the regular season and things heating up, it will be interesting to see how the Celtics position themselves heading into this year’s playoffs. They will host the Indiana Pacers on Friday before welcoming the San Antonio Spurs to town on Sunday.