Celtics will start championship push against the Nets
The Boston Celtics’ mid-season turnaround has earned them the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they are set to face a gauntlet should they make a deep run in the NBA playoffs.
The Celtics do hold home-court advantage throughout the majority of the playoffs, which is why many sportsbooks have them as title contenders. However, the Celtics are not exactly the top favorite to make it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, as depicted by the betting prices.
Bovada has odds up on possible Eastern Conference Finals matchups. The Celtics fall tied for the third-shortest odds with a Celtics-Miami Heat matchup priced at 5-to-1. The Celtics-Heat match up is tied with a Heat-Nets matchup. A $100 bet on either of these matchups would payout $600.
The listed favorite for this prop is a Heat-Milwaukee Bucks Eastern Conference Finals matchup. This is priced at +250, meaning a $100 bet would payout $350.
These matchups and prices correlate slightly with futures on NBA Champions, but these are specifically based on the seedings of each team. The Celtics will have four possible opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals, should they make it that far, but it’s clear that the Heat, the No. 1 seed in the East, are the top team to look out for.