Are Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets back into the realm of being contenders in the Western Conference?
Denver picked up a commanding Game 5 win at home over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, riding a triple-double from Jokic and a huge scoring game from Jamal Murray to take a 3-2 series lead heading into Thursday’s Game 6.
As a result, Denver is one of two teams that saw its NBA Finals odds make a major jump last night. The other team was the Indiana Pacers, who picked up an overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks to close out their first-round series in five games.
Indiana will now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs, and while it is set as an underdog in that series, the Pacers did see their odds to win the Finals improve after wrapping things up against Milwaukee.
Here’s a complete look at the odds, with the Boston Celtics also joining the group of teams that punched a ticket into the second round on Tuesday night.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nuggets NBA Finals Odds Soaring After Crucial Game 5 Win
There’s a valuable lesson to be learned in this Denver-Los Angeles series: Don’t ever count Nikola Jokic. Ever.
The Nuggets did not play well across the first four games of this series, but they were able to come away with two wins to make it a best-of-three heading into Game 5. On Tuesday, Jokic and Murray both turned in scintillating performances to give Denver control of this series, and the team’s latest odds reflect that.
The Nuggets jumped from +6000 to +4000 to win the title at DraftKings while the Clippers dropped from +2500 to +4000. Denver is an underdog on the road in Game 6, but it is in the driver’s seat in this matchup since it has two chances to win one game and advance.
However, since the Nuggets have a date with Oklahoma City in the second round – if they make it there – it’s hard to see this price getting much shorter even if Denver does advance.
Pacers NBA Finals Odds Rise After Advancing to Second Round
On Tuesday, I shared why I thought the Pacers were undervalued in this market, and they immediately saw their odds improve from +7000 to +6500 ahead of the second round.
While it’s not a major jump, this Indiana team posted one of the best offensive ratings in the NBA in its first-round series with the Bucks and may be able to keep pace with the Cavs in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Cleveland dominated the regular season to finish with the No. 1 seed in the East, but it lost three of its four regular season matchups with the Pacers. This Indiana team is experienced as well after making the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Oddsmakers aren’t showing a ton of belief in the Pacers at this price, but there’s a chance these odds continue to shrink if Indiana puts up a fight early 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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