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The NBA has six games on tonight’s slate, including some of the top title contenders in the action. There’s a new NBA championship favorite, however, at William Hill to start this week.
On March 20, a team other than the Lakers was William Hill’s sole championship favorite for the first time all season. The Nets currently lead the way at +200, with the Lakers right behind at +220.
Let’s look at the recent timeline of Brooklyn’s ascension.
The Nets were at +250 on March 9, which was the second-lowest title odds behind the Lakers at +180. A Nevada bettor put down $100,000 on Nets +250 for a total potential payout of $350,000, and their odds promptly went down to +200. That was the largest 2020-21 NBA championship futures wager taken thus far at William Hill.
On March 12, the Lakers’ title odds slightly rose to +200, marking the first time that they shared the top spot on the board this season. The Lakers and Nets remained +200 co-favorites until March 20, which also was the same day that Los Angeles superstar LeBron James suffered a high ankle sprain and is now reportedly expected to miss several weeks. The Lakers were then ticked up again to +220.
“We lose with both of them,” said Nick Bogdanovich, Director of Trading for William Hill US. “The Nets are still a total mystery to me even with all of that talent. I’m not entirely sold that they’re going to come together when all their pieces are on the court at the same time. But people believe in them, that’s for sure. The Lakers have questions too, and there are a lot of threats to beat them in their conference.”
The Nets and Lakers are also playing tonight, and both of them are underdogs in their respective matchups.
The Lakers head to New Orleans to face the Pelicans at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, and Los Angeles will be without James and Anthony Davis. The Pelicans are now 6.5-point favorites (-240 on the moneyline) against the Lakers (+200 ML) after opening at -6.
The majority of William Hill bettors are backing New Orleans against the spread, as the Pelicans are attracting 82% of the total number of tickets and 90% of the total dollars wagered. A Washington, D.C. bettor placed $9,900 on Pelicans -6 (-110) for a total potential payout of $18,900.
It’s much more divided on the moneyline, though, as the Pelicans are receiving 61% of the total number of tickets and the Lakers are getting 56% of the total dollars wagered.
At 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, the Nets travel across the country to square off against the Trail Blazers. Brooklyn, minus Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, is a 3.5-point underdog (+145 ML) to Portland (-165 ML). While the total has fallen 4.5 points from its opening number of 236.5, it’s still the highest on the board tonight at 232.
The Trail Blazers are capturing 56% of the total number of tickets and 74% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets against the Nets. This moneyline is also split, with Brooklyn seizing 51% of the total number of tickets and Portland bringing in 53% of the total dollars wagered.
Yet, the biggest NBA bet taken so far at William Hill for tonight’s games came in on a total. A Nevada bettor put down $11,000 on Nuggets vs. Magic over 217 (-110) for a total potential payout of $21,000.
Check out William Hill’s latest odds below for every NBA game tonight.
