Odds to Win 2013 NBA Eastern Conference
The Heat won the Eastern Conference last season and they have, by far, the lowest odds to win it this season.
The Heat are the defending NBA champions and they may be a better team this season. Udonis Haslem is healthy coming into the season and Miami made 2 great off-season moves picking up sharpshooters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. If these guys shoot the rock from outside it will really open up the floor for the Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. James finally got his first ring last season and while the Heat have the bets odds to win it again there are issues at the center and PG positions.
The Bulls will be without former MVP Derrick Rose for the beginning of the season and the sooner he gets back the better. He has to play the level he did before his ACL tear and Chicago still has Luol Deng and one of the best defensive players in the league in Joakim Noah. Richard Hamilton and Carlos Boozer are back and need to play like they did when they could fill it up a couple of years back. Chicago was not very busy in the off-season only picking up veterans Nazr Mohammad, Vlad Radmanovic, and Marco Belinelli. For the Bulls to win the East they need a 100% Rose.
Do the Celtics have another run to the finals in them? Yeah, they did lose 1 of the big 3 with Ray Allen bolting for Miami, but they still had a good off-season. They signed free agent Jason Terry, Jeff Green should be back from his injury, and draft day was a good one taking Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will have to play well and Rajon Rondo may have to score more.
The Nets have a lot of hope this season moving to Brooklyn where they may actually have home court advantage for a change. Deron Williams stayed with the Nets and Joe Johnson and last season's European league leading scorer Mirza Teletovic were brought into the fold. Gerald Wallace is a stellar defender and Kris Humphries is one of the best rebounders in the game. The Nets have the pieces to be a contender in the East, but they need C Brook Lopez to stay healthy.
Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler will still lead the Knicks, but New York made some good off-season moves. While they are up there in age both PG Jason Kidd and C Marcus Camby will be of great help and re-signing J.R. Smith was a great move. Iman Shumpert will come back from last season's injury and new addition Raymond Felton played well in his last stint with the Knicks.
The Pacers gave the Heat a scare in last season's playoffs and they have some solid young players with the likes of Danny Granger, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, and first round draft pick Miles Plumlee. David West is a proven veteran that did not have a great first season in Indy, but he is a solid leader, Gerald Green was brought in for offense. Granger needs to shoot the rock better as do the entire Pacers' team that ranked 24th in the NBA last season in FG%.
Here are the odds to win the Eastern Conference provided by Bovada as of October 29, 2012
- Miami Heat 1.80
- Chicago Bulls 9.00
- Boston Celtics 13.00
- Brooklyn Nets 15.00
- New York Knicks 18.00
- Indiana Pacers 19.00
- Philadelphia 76ers 29.00
- Atlanta Hawks 46.00
- Orlando Magic 101.00
- Milwaukee Bucks 101.00
- Cleveland Cavaliers 151.00
- Detroit Pistons 131.00
- Washington Wizards 151.00
- Toronto Raptors 151.00
- Charlotte Bobcats 351.00
