NBA Betting: Miami tops conference odds

Making future book odds in any sport is a difficult task, but creating numbers when one of the favorites has a completely revamped roster is a tricky proposition. Yet that is the case for Pete Korner, who disseminates the odds to the majority of Nevada sports books as owner of the Sports Club.

"Though the Miami trio of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James will not have played a single game together until the exhibition season, we still made the Miami Heat a 5/9 favorite to capture the Eastern Conference crown and the 9/5 favorite to win the NBA title," reported Korner.

Miami finished last season's campaign with a 47-35 record (42-39-1 ATS) which was good for third place in the Southeast Division. However, the club finished 12 games behind the first-place Orlando Magic.

Defense was the key to Miami's success last year, as the club held the opposition to just 94.2 points per game. That was the second stingiest mark in the NBA.

However, Miami was 25th in the league on offense, averaging a paltry 96.5 points per contest. The combination helped the ‘under' go 45-35-2 in the 82 regular season contests.

Wade once again led the team in scoring with a 33.2 PPG average, but received little offensive help when only two other players averaged double figures (Mario Chalmers - 10.8 PPG and Michael Beasley - 10.4 PPG).

But, with the advent of free-agency, Miami will have a completely different lineup for the upcoming season. And there won't be any lack of offense this time around with the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

James led the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring last season with a 29.1 PPG, while Bosh led Toronto's offense by averaging 24 points per contest.

"We will have to examine how they share the ball pretty closely during the preseason so we can make some solid ‘over/under' numbers on the totals once the regular season begins," stated Korner.

The loss of James and Bosh also influenced each of their old squad's future book prices. The Cavs are 100/1 to win the Eastern Conference and 250/1 to take the NBA crown, while the Raptors are 125/1 and 300/1 respectively.

Sports Club made the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers the 9/5 favorite to take the Western Conference crown and the 3/1 second choice to capture the NBA crown.

"Getting the defending champs at 3/1 would normally be a good value," continued Korner. "But those big three offensive monsters in Miami could be very scary."

Orlando is 7/2 to win the Eastern Conference crown and 10/1 to take the NBA title. The Magic registered a four-game sweep of Charlotte and Atlanta in the first two rounds of last year's playoffs before succumbing to Boston in six games during the conference finals.

Orlando was 59-23 SU and 46-34 ATS during the regular campaign, with the ‘under' going 47-34-1.

The Celtics opened at 5/1 to defend their Eastern Conference crown, but are 15/1 to go back to the NBA Finals and win this time. Boston finished the regular season with a nifty 50-32 record, but was a poor 33-47-2 against the spread.