{"id":102734,"date":"2019-04-13T07:14:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T14:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=102734"},"modified":"2019-04-13T07:14:35","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T14:14:35","slug":"golden-state-heavy-first-round-favorites-as-nba-playoffs-start-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-state-heavy-first-round-favorites-as-nba-playoffs-start-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden State Heavy First Round Favorites over Clippers as NBA Playoffs Start Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is never really such a thing as a sure bet, but oddsmakers think the Golden State Warriors advancing out of the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs is close to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Over the past two seasons, the Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors have been No. 1 in the NBA. Curry and the Warriors have an excellent shot for a three-peat this year. (Image: NBA.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Warriors, the two-time defending world champions and this year\u2019s top seed in the Western Conference, aren\u2019t just heavy favorites to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re obese. Morbidly obese favorites in a series that starts Saturday night.<\/p>\n

The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas lists the Warriors as -50000 in the best-of-seven series. That means a bettor needs to put up $50,000 to win $100. For those seeking the Warriors as a value opportunity, the FanDuel Sportsbook lists Golden State at -20000. A $100 bet through FanDuel wins 50 cents.<\/p>\n

The Warriors are used to having ridiculously low odds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the SuperBook gives Los Angeles +10000 odds to win four games over the Warriors. That means a $100 bet would win $10,000. FanDuel gives the Clips +5500.<\/p>\n

Of course, upsets can happen, and the NBA<\/a> has seen its share of eight seeds knocking off a top seed in the first round. Most notably was when the Denver Nuggets knocked off the Seattle Supersonics 25 years ago. Oddsmakers pegged the Sonics as -2000 favorites in that series, according to SportsOddsHistory.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters that he like the way the Clippers organization built their team, an approach that made them better down the stretch.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re the young upstarts now,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cWe\u2019re the veteran team. We have a ton of respect for them, and what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Other Western Conference Matchups<\/h2>\n

Oddsmakers aren\u2019t going by seedings in determining lines for the other best-of-seven series out west.<\/p>\n

At the SuperBook, sixth-seeded Oklahoma City is a -150 favorite over Portland in their first-round series, which starts on Sunday. That\u2019s primarily due to the fact the Thunder beat Portland (+130) in all four of their regular season matchups. In addition, the Trail Blazers will play without center Jusuf Nurkic. The starter is out for the season after suffering a compound fracture in his left leg in a game last month.<\/p>\n

FanDuel offers the Thunder at -172 and the Blazers at +140.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, fourth-seeded Houston has -400 odds at the SuperBook and -300 odds at FanDuel over fifth-seeded Utah (+300\/+230). Their series starts Sunday.<\/p>\n

Denver, the second seed, is -200 at the SuperBook and -240 at FanDuel over San Antonio (+170\/+190) in the series that starts Saturday night.<\/p>\n

NBA Eastern Conference<\/h2>\n

The sportsbooks see the Eastern Conference matchups as pretty much cut and dried.<\/p>\n

The top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks are a -10000 selection at the SuperBook over the Detroit Pistons in the first round. FanDuel gives the Bucks, led by Most Valuable Player candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, -4000 odds.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo, nicknamed the \u201cGreek Freak,\u201d averaged 30 points and 12.2 rebounds a game over March and April to help the Bucks earn home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. While Milwaukee hasn\u2019t won a playoff series in 18 years, their superstar said the team isn\u2019t putting any additional pressure on itself.<\/p>\n

\n

“As a team, we know what our goal is,” Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel<\/em>. “We haven’t recently been out of the first round. We have to take it step by step.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Milwaukee-Detroit (+2000\/+1650) starts on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

In other Eastern Conference matchups:<\/p>\n

The Toronto Raptors, the second seed, hold -1400 odds at the SuperBook and -1200 at FanDuel over the Orlando Magic (+800\/+710) in a series that starts on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers are -800 favorites at the SuperBook and -550 through FanDuel over the Brooklyn Nets (+550\/+390) in a series that starts on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Boston Celtics are -700 favorites at the SuperBook over the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers (+500\/+330). FanDuel offers the Celtics at -460. That series starts Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is never really such a thing as a sure bet, but oddsmakers think the Golden State Warriors advancing out of the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs is close to it. The Warriors, the two-time defending world champions and this year\u2019s top seed in the Western Conference, aren\u2019t just heavy favorites to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":102736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGolden State Heavy First Round Favorites as NBA Playoffs Start Saturday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NBA Playoffs start on Saturday, and oddsmakers expect Golden State, Milwaukee to advance out of the first round. 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