Punters still hot for Golden State Warriors in NBA title chase

IF you listen to the punters at Bovada.lv, the Golden State Warriors have the NBA title sewn up.

They are perhaps the shortest price favourites in history after a mountain of money throughout the season has made it impossible for the bookmakers to move.

Make no mistake, if they do manage to avenge their loss in 2016 and claim the championship, the bookies are going to be shredded.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the bookies, even with the impending return of Warriors superstar Kevin Durant from a serious knee injury.

The Cleveland Cavaliers hold the title, they have a bloke name LeBron James and they know how to beat the Warriors. And they are the +140 second favourite with Bovada.lv.

The only other team who the punters think is a chance in hell is the Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs under Gregg Popovic have typically been a well oiled machine, despite the retirement of legend Tim Duncan and the regression to corpse like performances from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The likes of Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol have been flying the flag for the +650 chance and any team under Pop has to be considered.

There might be three sneakies who hold a faint candle for the title.

The Houston Rockets might be the team who has best catered to their superstar. James Harden is the presumptive NBA Most Valuable Player, leading a team of role players to the third best record in the Western Conference.

They would need every thing to click, but, at +1200, they might just be worth a flyer.

Of course, the little man with the big heart in green, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas would like to think he can lead the Celtics to the promised land. With Cleveland’s recent struggles, they have come into calculation for the best record in the East. Any team that finishes on top of their conference has serious championship chops and, while most think the Cavs or Warriors might be a bridge too far across a seven game series, Boston is worth a sneaky flutter at +1800.

If you really want some bang for your buck, then the Washington Wizards would be the only other team you could consider to have even half a hope of winning this year’s title.

The Wizards, on the back of arguably the best back court in the league in John Wall and Bradley Beal have calved out one of the best records in the east and, while the hope is only very, very faint, at +4000, what do you expect?

2017 NBA Championship winner market:

Golden State Warriors -120

Cleveland Cavaliers +140

San Antonio Spurs +650

Houston Rockets +1200

Boston Celtics +1800

Washington Wizards +4000

Los Angeles Clippers +4000

Toronto Raptors +5000

Utah Jazz +5000

Oklahoma City Thunder +6600

Memphis Grizzlies +10000

Atlanta Hawks +10000

Miami Heat +10000

Indiana Pacers +20000

Milwaukee Bucks +20000

Chicago Bulls +20000

Detroit Pistons +20000

Denver Nuggets +25000

Portland Trail Blazers +30000

Dallas Mavericks +100000

New Orleans Pelicans +100000

Odds provided by Bovada.lv

Chi-Town favoured in Stanley Cup

Just as the the Chicago Cubs are favoured to claim the MLB’s holy grail, so are the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.

The Blackhawks, tops in Central Division, have been wrecking teams and that makes them the deserved +450 favourites.

But don’t discount the Metro leading Washington Capitals, who are just behind at +500.

It’s tight at the top, with the Pittsburgh Penguins (+600) and the Minnesota Wild (+650) both well and truly in the market after putting together strong seasons.

The playoffs are just around the corner, scheduled to begin on April 12 and it will be interesting to see how the standings end up breaking down.

2017 NHL Stanley Cup Winner:

Chicago Blackhawks +450

Washington Capitals +500

Pittsburgh Penguins +600

Minnesota Wild +650

Columbus Blue Jackets +1000

San Jose Sharks +1400

Montreal Canadiens +1400

New York Rangers +1400

Anaheim Ducks +1800

Calgary Flames +2000

Ottawa Senators +2000

Boston Bruins +2200

Edmonton Oilers +2200

St. Louis Blues +2800

Toronto Maple Leafs +2800

Nashville Predators +3300

Tampa Bay Lightning +6600

New York Islanders +6600

Odds provided by Bovada.lv

Who else but the Pats?

Just give them the Vince Lombardi Trophy now.

After unbelievably claiming the greatest Super Bowl comeback of all time, the New England Patriots have somehow got better.

The Pats, who came back from a 28-3 deficit to vanquish the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51, are the red hot +400 favourites to claim yet another in the Tom Brady Bill Belichick era.

Undoubtedly the greatest quarterback of all time, Brady’s crew has replaced Marcellus Bennett with the younger Dwayne Allen, lured the best free agent cornerback on offer in Stephon Gilmore from Buffalo, stole Brandin Cooks from the Saints for three cents in the dollar, kept their back up QB in Jimmy Garoppolo and re-signed Dont’a Hightower, Duro Harmon and Alan Branch.

Yep, every one else is playing for second.

Thanks for coming.

2017 NFL Super Bowl winner market:

New England Patriots +300

Dallas Cowboys +1000

Green Bay Packers +1000

Seattle Seahawks +1000

Atlanta Falcons +1200

Pittsburgh Steelers +1400

Oakland Raiders +1600

Houston Texans +1600

Denver Broncos +1600

New York Giants +1800

Kansas City Chiefs +2500

Carolina Panthers +3300

Minnesota Vikings +3300

Indianapolis Colts +3300

Arizona Cardinals +3300

Tennessee Titans +4000

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +4000

Baltimore Ravens +4000

Cincinnati Bengals +5000

Miami Dolphins +5000

Washington Redskins +5000

Philadelphia Eagles +5000

New Orleans Saints +6600

Detroit Lions +6600

Los Angeles Chargers +6600

Buffalo Bills +10000

Jacksonville Jaguars +10000

Chicago Bears +10000

Los Angeles Rams +15000

New York Jets +15000

San Francisco 49ers +15000

Cleveland Browns +20000

Odds provided by Bovada.lv