If the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for bulletin board material heading into their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics, all they’d have to do is look at the odds.
Recent NBA betting scandals notwithstanding, it's clear oddsmakers don't think the Cavs stand any chance against Boston. In fact, sportsbooks are giving the Cavs a better chance of getting swept than upsetting the top-ranked Celtics, and it’s really not even close.
The Celtics are -3000 to win the series at FanDuel Sportsbook and -1200 to win at DraftKings. That means those sportsbooks are giving the Celtics an implied probability to win the series of 96.8% and 92.3% respectively.
Even more telling, the Celtics are +140 at FanDuel and +170 at DraftKings to win the series 4-0. Those are the shortest odds of any correct series score. The Celtics winning 4-1 has the second shortest odds at +170 and +190, respectively.
For context, even after winning Game 1, the Knicks are only -440 at FanDuel to win their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
This is not exactly surprising.
The Celtics have been the betting favorites to win the NBA championship most of the season and remain so today. They are +100 to win the title at FanDuel and +115 at DraftKings.
The Cavs are +10000 and +8000 at those books, respectively, the longest odds of any playoff team.
All of this paints a grim picture for the Cavs, even more so when you consider the Celtics are expected to be without their third-leading scorer from the regular season, Kristaps Porzingis, who is dealing with a calf injury and is not expected to play the entirety of the series.
The Cavs are at full strength but struggled to beat a young Orlando Magic team in the first round of the playoffs. The series went seven games and the Magic had the Cavs on the ropes in the first half of Game 7 before Donovan Mitchell took over and willed Cleveland into the second round.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics easily dispatched the Miami Heat in five games in the first round, though the Heat were without Jimmy Butler.
It’s clear oddsmakers believe in the duo of Tatum and Brown, not only against the Cavs, but against anyone in the league. The Cavs could look at that as an insult and use it as motivation. It won’t matter to oddsmakers though. It seems their belief is near certainty, at least in this round.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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