NBA Contenders

The NBA season is getting close to half way done and the playoff picture is starting to take shape

. Certain teams have already basically eliminated themselves from the playoffs such as the Timberwolves, the Warriors and definitely the (3-30) New Jersey Nets, while others have emerged as legitimate championship contenders for this season. To be honest there aren't really any surprises thus far with the teams who were projected to do well living up to their billing.

Eastern Conference Contenders

The Boston Celtics are once again the team to beat in the East having put together a 24-8 record this far into the season. Cleveland who has played quite a few more games has a 27-9 record and is tied with Boston for first in the conference with a .750 winning percentage. The only other team that most people would consider has a chance to advance to the finals out of the East would be the Orlando Magic lead by Dwight Howard. The Magic are currently 24-9 with a .727 winning percentage which puts them in third place in the East, just as expected. The lower playoff teams in the East are really in a lower class than these three teams and it would be very surprising if the Eastern Conference Final did not include 2 of these 3 elite teams.

Western Conference Contenders

The LA Lakers are on pace to defend their championship leading the league at this point with a 27-6 record and a 0.818 winning percentage. Those numbers are really remarkable and it is no doubt that the Lakers are the team to beat in the entire league this season. Behind them is a log jam of about 5 other teams that have a legitimate chance of meeting the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. These teams include the Dallas Mavericks (0.676), Portland Trailblazers (0.629), San Antonio Spurs (0.625), Denver Nuggets (0.618) and Phoenix Suns (0.618). The Conference is actually very solid right down to 9th position which is the complete opposite to the Eastern Conference. The West is strong throughout and any team that makes the playoffs in the West will have some shot at advancing to and winning the NBA Championships.

The online betting odds have the teams as follows in terms of their likelyhood of winning the championship this season:

LA Lakers +230

Boston Celtics +275

Cleveland Cavaliers +450

Orlando Magic +650

Denver Nuggets +1100

San Antonio Spurs +1400

Dallas Mavericks +1600

Atlanta Hawks +1800

Phoenix Suns +2800

Utah Jazz +2800

Portland Trailblazers +3300

The remainder of the season will be very interesting as teams jockey for playoff positions and fight for their lives. The playoff races will be tight in both conferences. In the East it will be tight because there are a lot of subpar teams, while in the West it will be tight because there are 9 very good teams and one of these teams will have to miss the post season. If you are a gambler you can find the odds for every NBA game this season at NBAodds.org or at NBAbettinglines.org.

NBA Contenders

By: Niko De Jonge

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