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2009 NBA Season Preview - Eastern Conference Championship Odds

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NBA Preview: Eastern Conference All About Cavaliers and Celtics

A lot of the teams in the Eastern Conference may feel that they can challenge the two best teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, but the truth is that unless injuries hit, expect these two to battle each other in the spring for the right to take on the Western Conference Champion for the NBA Championship.

Both teams are set up very well to win the NBA Championship, but one team has a slight, yet distinct advantage. Before taking an in depth look at both the Cavs and the Celtics, let’s knock down each one of the other so called pretenders in the Eastern Conference. I’ve listed the basketball odds for each team to win the NBA Championship in the NBA sports book next to them.

Pretenders to the NBA Championship

  1. +900 - - The odds on Orlando have come down since they were listed at +1000 in the NBA sportsbook just a month ago. I’m not exactly sure why. The bottom line with Orlando is that they have two of the best players in their respective positions in point guard Jameer Nelson and center Dwight Howard, but losing a leader like Hedo Turkoglu for a Rasher Lewis clone in Vince Carter isn’t going to help this team at all. Carter is a proven loser. Turkoglu was a proven winner. How does that help them?

  1. NBA betting fans must understand that any wager on the Heat is a wager on a serious underdog. The Heat has a shot because their guy is Dwayne Wade who is every bit as good as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Wade makes the Heat a contender because he’s really that good. That is if Michael Beasley has his head straight, and Mario Chalmers can manage the ball, then they’ve got Wade to do the lions share. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough talent to support D-Wade, and too many question marks about the guys they have. Still, 40 to 1 is 40 to 1. I’m willing to be wrong at those hoop odds.

  1. +5000 - - Derrick Rose is a stud, no doubt, but these guys really have nobody else on the team that could give Derrick the help that he needs. Joakim Noah and Luol Deng are good, but basketball is all about matchups and nobody on this team can matchup with who both Boston and Cleveland bring to the court.

  1. Atlanta Hawks +5000 - - The Hawks are missing one piece to their championship team. That player. You know? The Dwayne or Kobe or LeBron or even the Chris Paul. That one player that can lead them to the Promised Land. Looking at this team, Mike Bibby, Al Horford and Joe Johnson have been playing really good ball over the last few years and appear to be set to really make waves in the Eastern Conference this year, but they’re missing that player. Too bad because they’ve got a lot of guys that would really step it up to support a Dwayne or Kobe or LeBron.

Contenders for the Eastern Conference Championship

  1. +400 - - The Boston Celtics are the top pick to win the Eastern Conference because of two reasons. The first is an obvious one. Kevin Garnett, one of the best players to ever play in the NBA, is back and healthy. Without KG, the Boston Celtics didn’t have much of a shot to repeat as NBA Champions in 2009 but with KG, the 2010 NBA Championship is that much closer for them to grasp. The fact that they signed one of the best defensive players in the NBA to go along with their defensive style, Rasheed Wallace, makes them even tougher. A healthy KG, both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen back, an improving Rajon Rondo, and Rasheed in the fold, this group will have the Celtics playing in the Eastern Conference Championship. It all depends on injuries of course, but that’s something you can’t prepare for.

    The Celtics have the most upside of any contender in the Eastern Conference because of their acquisition of Wallace. This team should be ready to return to the top of the NBA.

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers +300 - - The Cavs are favored over the Celtics to win the NBA Championship, but the problem with the Cavaliers is that the second most important player on their team was born in 1972. Shaquille O’Neal can still dominate at times, no doubt, but I have my doubts as to whether or not he can dominate well into the Eastern Conference Playoffs. 1972 is a long, long time ago. The rest of this team simply cannot beat the Celtics without Shaquille. And Boston, in a way, has the Shaquille stopper in Rasheed Wallace.

    LeBron’s team will win over 60 games in their sleep, but two teams in the league are just a tad better, the Lakers and the Celtics. I like Cleveland, but with an old Shaq as their only improvement, Cleveland can’t break the foursome of Rasheed, Allen, Pierce and KG.