2024 NBA Finals Odds: Bucks Still Viewed as Contenders Despite Struggles
By Jovan Alford
The Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the most fascinating teams in the NBA this season. It all started before the season began, as they acquired All-Star and Top 75 player in NBA history Damian Lillard in a blockbuster deal from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo looked to be the next dynamic duo set to take over the NBA. However, the Bucks struggled defensively throughout the first few months of the season despite being a top-3 team in the East.
Between the defensive struggles and the team reportedly losing faith in first-year head coach Adrian Griffin, Milwaukee shockingly parted ways with him. The Bucks hired former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers to replace Griffin.
With Rivers on the sidelines, the Bucks are 3-7 in their last 10 games and lost by three points to the Memphis Grizzlies in the final game before the NBA All-Star break. It hasn’t been an easy season for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, but the oddsmakers still like their chances to win the Eastern Conference and the NBA Finals this season.
NBA Championship Odds: Bucks Have the Fourth-Best Odds to Win it All
Milwaukee surprisingly has the fourth-best odds (+600 on FanDuel Sportsbook) to win the NBA Finals later this season. The three other teams with better odds are the Los Angeles Clippers (+550), Denver Nuggets (+440), and Boston Celtics (+260).
As for the Eastern Conference, the gap between the Bucks and Celtics isn’t that far apart. Milwaukee has +300 odds, while Boston is the favorite at +110.
For the Bucks to become the favorite to win the East and shorten their odds to win the NBA title, they need to be consistent. Milwaukee can’t lose to the Grizzlies one night and beat Denver the next.
The Bucks have too much talent outside of Giannis and Lillard. Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton (when healthy), and Malik Beasley are all solid players to play alongside those two stars.
However, as we stated earlier, the defense must get better. It doesn’t matter that Milwaukee can score 122 points per game if they are giving up 118.8 points on the other end. We will see what the Bucks made of coming out of the All-Star break, as they will have to play the Timberwolves, Sixers, Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, and Kings over their next 10 games.
If you believe the Bucks will play better in the second half of the season, it might be worth throwing a unit on their Finals odds (+600). However, it’s hard to trust what team might show up on a nightly basis.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change