Which Team Is Favored to Win Each Conference in 2021?

A lot has happened since the start of the NBA season just over a month ago. We’re a little over a quarter of the way through the regular season, and the biggest factors right now in teams’ fortunes have had to do with COVID-19 cases and contact tracing, as quite a few teams are struggling to find consistency because so many of their players have had to miss games. The biggest swing in fortune for any one team has been that of the Brooklyn Nets, who pulled off a blockbuster trade to bring James Harden to town, joining Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the latest attempt to build a “Big 3” to counter AD and LeBron on the Lakers’ roster.

Let’s look at updated NBA betting odds for each team to win their respective conference for your futures wagering consideration.

NBA News: Which Team Is Favored to Win Each Conference in 2021?

As far as the West goes, it’s hard to argue against the Lakers, barring injury to either AD or LeBron down the stretch. Going into the “bubble” last year, a lot of people thought that the odd timing to the season, with the long layoff, might make it hard for an aging player with a lot of miles on his legs, like LeBron, to get back up and running. The Lakers did struggle a bit in the first week of the bubble but then steamrolled to another title. There are other talented teams in the West, beginning with the Clippers, but they took a step back in terms of roster depth before this season. Utah has Donovan Mitchell but needs more consistent interior play. Dallas has Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis but keeps having to play games with four or five guys on the COVID-19 restricted list, and they wear down in terms of shooting and defense in the second half of too many games. Phoenix has a terrific young core but has gotten exposed a bit after the early weeks of the season. New Orleans is having yet another fire sale, about to leave Zion Williamson all by himself with a bunch of subpar talent. Portland still doesn’t have anyone inside to balance C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard’s talent outside. Denver has Nikola Jokic and may represent the West’s best threat to stop the Lakers from advancing to another Finals, but we’ll see what they can do after faltering a year ago.

The East is a lot more in flux than the West right now, with a lot of teams that have a ton of talent — but also with a glaring flaw. The Philadelphia 76ers were the first team to deal the Lakers a road loss this season, thanks to a glorious jumper from Tobias Harris. However, Joel Embiid went down with back problems, yet again. His health is what will determine how far the 76ers go this season. Brooklyn got Harden and now has the conference’s best offense — but then they went out and let Cleveland drop over 140 points on them in a loss. Harden does not play defense, and the Nets were already struggling to get stops before the trade. Brooklyn has gone 4-2 since picking up Harden, but the story of the postseason is the ability to get stops when you need them, and Harden has never shown a lot of interest in that side of the game. Then there are the Bucks, but when they get involved in the sort of physical games that mark the postseason, they tend to wilt. It’s hard to handicap right now; I like Philadelphia, but if Embiid can’t stay healthy, it is hard to tell right now who will emerge from the East.

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