On Saturday, NBA fans will be treated to the best thing in sports: A Game 7.
The Los Angeles Clippers forced a Game 7 matchup with the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, winning at home behind big games from James Harden and Norman Powell. After Denver took a 3-2 series lead on Tuesday, Los Angeles put together one of its best performances of the series in Game 6.
The win caused a major shift in the odds to win the NBA Finals, as the Clippers have jumped to +2800 at DraftKings Sportsbook. This is a major move from where these odds were after Game 5, as the Clippers had fallen to +4000 to win the title after Denver took a 3-2 series lead.
Even though the Nuggets are at home in Game 7, it appears that oddsmakers expect them to lose the series. Denver dropped from +4000 to +5000 to win the title after losing Game 6, and the odds for Game 7 currently have the Clippers favored by one point on the road.
Denver is 2-1 at Ball Arena in the playoffs, and it won 26 of its 41 home games during the regular season. Still, oddsmakers think that the Clippers are the better team in this matchup, and they’ve shown that since the start of the series, immediately favoring Los Angeles to advance after it won Game 2.
The winner of Game 7 on Saturday will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. OKC is favored to win the title at +150, so there’s a good chance that nothing really changes for Denver and L.A. in the Finals market even if they advance.
For example, the New York Knicks’ odds to win the Finals actually fell after they beat the Detroit Pistons since they are facing the Boston Celtics (+200 to win the title) in the second round.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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