After Bucks stunned by Heat, Celtics own home-court advantage and are the new favorites to win NBA championship
BOSTON -- There is a new favorite to win this year's NBA championship. After the Miami Heat put the finishing touches on their first-round upset of the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics wake up the new favorite to win it all on Thursday morning.
Obviously, the Celtics have to take care of their own first-round series, with a Game 6 against the Hawks on tap in Atlanta for Thursday night. Boston wasn't able to do that on its home floor Tuesday night, blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter in Game 5 to keep the series going.
But with the top-seeded Bucks -- the favorites entering the playoffs -- losing to Jimmy Butler and company in five games, the Celtics now own home-court advantage the rest of the way. And the oddsmakers like their chances of going all the way this time around.
The Celtics are plus-165 to win it all at both FanDuel and BetMGM, while DraftKings has them sitting at plus-340. The Phoenix Suns are next up in the favorites pool at plus-390 and plus-400 at FanDuel and BetMGM, respectively, while DraftKings has them at plus-450. The Golden State Warriors have the third-best odds at the various sites, following by the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Denver Nuggets.
If the Celtics win Thursday night, or win a Game 7 back in Boston on Saturday, they'd advance to the East Semis to face Joel Embiid, James Harden and the 76ers.
The New York Knicks eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, finishing off their series on Wednesday night, and will now face the Heat in the other Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The path is certainly there for the Celtics to not just return to the Finals but win it all. But first, they need to make it out of the first round by taking care of business against the Hawks.
