The San Antonio Spurs have claimed five straight victories to keep pace with the Golden State Warriors at the top of the NBA standings. But while the Spurs’ 23-5 record ranks a close second in the league this season, San Antonio continues to trail the favored Warriors with +900 odds to win the NBA title at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
San Antonio continued to make its case Tuesday, overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit to get past the Houston Rockets by a 102-100 margin, and now travels to Los Angeles for Thursday night’s marquee Spurs vs. Clippers betting matchup at Staples Center unbeaten against the spread in five straight games.
Despite the Spurs’ hot start, they remain off the pace from their season-opening +500 odds and sit well back of the Warriors, who have dug in as -140 favorites to claim their second NBA championship in three years.
The Warriors have put up some impressive point totals in the early going, scoring 130 or more points on seven occasions, but have struggled to regularly cover as double-digit chalk and have consistently seen the point total finish under in games this month.
Meanwhile, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers closely follow the Warriors with +275 odds to win the NBA championship. Cleveland has won six of seven SU, including four road victories, and owns an NBA-best 13-2 SU record at home.
However, the Cavaliers approach Christmas weekend with company atop the Eastern Conference, with the red-hot Toronto Raptors trailing by just a half-game. Toronto became the first team in the conference to hit the 20-win mark Tuesday.
The Raptors recorded a 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets as 15 1/2-point home chalk for their 12th SU win in 14 outings Tuesday, but continue to lag behind the favorites on the NBA championship odds at +2500.
Toronto is joined by the Rockets, who opened at a distant +5000, but have climbed into the Western Conference hunt with a 10-game SU win streak that was halted by San Antonio on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been a massive betting disappointment, covering the spread in consecutive games just once since mid-November. But the Clippers remain among the NBA championship favorites at the sportsbooks, with solid +1200 odds to claim the title.
And the Boston Celtics, trailing the Cavaliers and the Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings, have fallen from an opening +2500 to a current +3300 on the latest NBA championship odds at the sportsbooks. That has them just ahead of the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are deadlocked at +5000 odds.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
