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Celtics Now Heavy Favorites to Win NBA Title
There’s a new favorite to win the NBA Finals—again.
The Celtics took over as heavy title favorites following their 116-100 victory against the Warriors in Game 3 on Wednesday. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each had 20 points in the win, which put Boston up 2-1 in the series and brought their championship odds to -222 on SI Sportsbook.
Bet on the NBA Finals at SI Sportsbook
Golden State’s championship odds fell to +180 as the team faces its second deficit of the Finals. The most likely series score on SI Sportsbook is a 4-2 Celtics win (+175), followed by 4-3 Warriors (+300).
The Celtics are 3.5-point favorites for Friday’s Game 4 at TD Garden.
Boston opened the series as +130 underdogs, while Golden State was a -161 favorite. That shifted after the Celtics stole Game 1 in San Francisco, 120-108. The C’s moved to -175 favorites and the Dubs’ odds shifted to +140. After the Warriors rebounded in Game 2 with a 107-88 victory, they reclaimed their title favorite status (-118), which they had held since midway through the first round of the postseason.
Even though a clear favorite has emerged to take the series, the Finals MVP race is still very much wide open. Tatum is an even-money favorite to win the award.
Steph Curry isn’t far behind at +175 odds, and he’s the clear winner if the Warriors rally. Behind them is Brown at +300 odds, a potential value bet—his numbers through three games are on par with Tatum’s and he led the team in scoring in Game 3.
Boston will be installed as prohibitive favorites with a win in Game 4 to go up 3-1. If Golden State evens the series Friday, another dramatic odds shift may be in order as two of the three remaining games will be played at the Chase Center.
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Kyle is based in Washington, D.C. He writes the Winners Club newsletter and is a fantasy and betting writer for SI. His work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and Gainesville Sun.