This article is part of our NBA Picks series.
With the NBA emerging from the All-Star break this week, RotoWire's NBA staff hands out their favorite in-season futures bets as we enter the stretch run.
Orlando Magic O45.5 season wins -- DraftKings Sportsbook (-110)
Nick Whalen: In-season win totals are always a fun market to track, and this is my favorite of the current numbers. Orlando needs to go 16-11 the rest of the way to hit this over, and they'll have the benefit of the NBA's easiest remaining schedule (.435 opponent win percentage). Orlando gets eight games against Detroit, Washington, Charlotte and Memphis, as well as two against a sinking Raptors team. They're currently in the Play-In zone but will be pushing hard to pass up teams like Indy and Philadelphia, who are well within reach with 27 games to play.
Los Angeles Lakers to make playoffs: YES -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+105)
Nick Whalen: It's hard to find reasons to back this Lakers team, especially with LeBron James and Anthony Davis both having close to best-case-scenario first halves, in terms of health. In all likelihood, the Lakers will be a Play-In team, though it's not out of the question that they could chase down teams like New Orleans, Dallas and/or Sacramento to climb out of that zone.
Either way, the Lakers are a team that flips the switch when it matters -- we most recently saw that in the In-Season Tournament -- and if they're matched up with the Kings, Pelicans or Warriors in a win-or-go-home scenario, I'm not betting against LeBron and Davis. Do the Lakers have championship upside? No. But I think they'll at least make the eight-team field.
Jamahl Mosley to win Coach of the Year award -- FanDuel Sportsbook (+5000)
Nick Whalen: This, of course, ties into the Magic O45.5 wins bet explicated above. Typically, the Coach of the Year award goes to either the best coach of one of the best teams in the NBA, or, more commonly, to the coach who does the most with the least. Mosley would more so fit into the latter category, as the Magic entered the year with a preseason win total of 37.5. They're on pace to blow that out of the water, and with an easy schedule the rest of the way could climb all the way up to sixth, or even fifth, in the East.
Getting that No. 5 seed is probably a requirement for Mosley to win the award, but I think it's well within reason that Orlando could pass up Miami, Indiana and the Joel Embiid-less Sixers. Coming out of the break, the Magic are only 2.5 games behind Philly for the No. 5 seed and 3.0 games behind the Knicks for the No. 4 spot.
Note: If I had to take two teams as NBA Finals winner longshots, it would be the Miami Heat (42/1 at FanDuel) and the Dallas Mavericks (36/1 at FanDuel).
NBA Finals Exacta: Nuggets to beat Celtics -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+1500)
Nuggets to win NBA Finals -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+475)
Kirien Sprecher: The Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves are all real contenders in the West, but the reigning champions' consistency stands out. The Nuggets are +475 to win it all, and that's just too good of value for a team of this caliber, even if they don't make a push for the No. 1 seed over the final 27 games.
Denver needs to go 17-10 to match its record from last season, and the entire starting lineup has major postseason experience together, which can't be said about any other team in the West outside of maybe the Lakers. My preseason pick was Nuggets over Bucks, and I was still confident about that until Milwaukee's horrendous stretch heading into the All-Star break. I think Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo will figure it out and ultimately give Boston the toughest test in the playoffs, but right now I have to take the Celtics advancing to the Finals for the second time in three years.
The Celtics and Thunder are the only teams that rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating. Boston's bench isn't a major strength, but Al Horford as a reserve gives Boston the best six-man rotation in the East. That should be enough for the Celtics to thwart the surprise stories in Cleveland and New York and advance past struggling contenders in Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
NBA Finals Winner: Los Angeles Clippers -- BetMGM Sportsbook (+525)
Juan Carlos Blanco: The Celtics and Nuggets are naturally the darlings of many a bettor placing a Finals Winner bet, but the Clippers are an excellent candidate for those on the hunt for a bit better value.
Los Angeles comes close to matching Boston in terms of first-unit star power, and the Kawhi-Harden-PG13 trio, if fully healthy, is as potent as any in what projects to be the cumulative postseason field.
Naturally, injuries are always a concern that hangs over the three stars to varying degree. However, with a defensively proficient seven-footer down low in Ivica Zubac that's also gotten better offensively every year – plus a Russell Westbrook-led second unit that also includes capable scorers Norman Powell, Amir Coffey and Mason Plumlee – the Clips will be dangerous against any opponent at full strength.
Sixth Man of the Year winner: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Hawks -- FanDuel Sportsbook (+2900)
Juan Carlos Blanco: The Kings' Malik Monk is curiously a runaway favorite in this market at the All-Star break with +100 odds. However, Bogdanovic, who's outpacing Monk in multiple categories and has just as steady a bench role, represents excellent value at his current odds.
The seventh-year pro, who once essentially held Monk's role in Sacramento, is averaging a career-best 16.9 points and 1.2 steals per contest while also contributing 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. His 43.2 percent overall field-goal percentage and 37.2 three-point shooting percentage both lag just slightly behind Monk, but Bogdanovic is superior to him in points, rebounds and steals.
Bogdanovic is also logging what is nearly a starter's workload – 28.9 minutes per contest – and holds down that robust role on a team that currently averages the most possessions per game of any team on its home floor and often finds itself in wild buzzer-to-buzzer affairs.
Factor in his proven scoring ability and career-high average of 14 shot attempts per contest, and we can count on Bogdanovic to continue benefiting from the perfect storm of an aggressive approach and highly favorable game environments on his way to potentially cashing this bet.
Clippers to win the Western Conference -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+250)
Jeff Edgerton: The Clippers are virtually unstoppable when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are dialed in, and the James Harden trade has paid huge dividends over the past month. I expect Russell Westbrook to play a larger role and provide some playoff muscle to push the Clippers through the bracket.
NBA Finals Exacta: Celtics to beat Clippers -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+1500)
Jeff Edgerton: This might be my favorite play on the board right now. Depending on the line on different sites, I would arb this net and play both ways to get a small profit, but if the differentials aren;t big enough, I would stick with Boston and the original call.
Southeast Division Winner: Miami Heat -- FanDuel Sportsbook (-170)
Michael Gillow: The Heat's only real competition for the division lead is the Orlando Magic, as both teams sit at 30-25 coming out of the All-Star break. The next-closest team is the Atlanta Hawks, with a 24-31 record.
The Heat are just getting healthy at the right time, as Terry Rozier isn't believed to have suffered a major knee injury. Miami has shuffled through 29 starting lineups this season, the most in the NBA. However, with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro finally all healthy, Erik Spoelstra should be able to lock down a more consistent rotation. The Heat also have won six of their last eight contests following a seven-game slide.
On the other hand, the Magic may have over-performed in the first half of the season while benefitting from remarkable health. If Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs go down with an injury, I'm not sure that they can stay afloat like the Heat have proven they can do without one of their top players.
Los Angeles Lakers to make the playoffs -- DraftKings Sportsbook (+105)
Joe Bartel: This is really just a bet as to whether the Lakers make the play-in or not. A team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis won't lose two win-and-you're-in scenarios, much less one. That they're only 3.5 games out of potentially avoiding the play-in altogether is noteworthy in my mind, and as much as people want to (rightfully) point out the injury risk of AD and a 39-year-old James, we're talking about the duo staying healthy for just 26 games more.
or plus money, that feels like a fair bet, and it's also one that logically presumes the health of Zion Williamson (Pelicans sit at No. 6) and Bradley Beal/Kevin Durant (Suns tied record wise with NOR) will stay intact, which we know is no sure thing.
