The NBA has set plans in motion to return this season and crown a 2019/2020 NBA champion despite the coronavirus ending the season early. With the plans in place now one has to wonder just who will come out on top in a what is sure to be a crazy finish the what started back in October 2019. Hell, most of us never thought we would be talking sports right now but here we are.
It is time to place your bets and many consider the Los Angeles Lakers of the West to the the favorite. ESPN has compiled some stats regarding how Vegas sees the odds of the Lakers winning or another contender stealing the show. If you want more information on the odds for all your favorite teams, especially those over on the East Coast, you can head over to a site like Sportsbettingny.com to see who they think has a good chance once the season returns.
Sportsbook rules vary from one company to the next, but here is an overview of how some bookmakers are handling the NBA online betting and its effect on wagers that had already been placed.
NBA title/conference futures
All futures bets made to win the Eastern or Western Conference — or the NBA Finals — placed before the March 11 shutdown are still alive. All 22 teams invited to Orlando will have a chance at cashing the future championship tickets. Even with the possible play-in for eight seeds, the NBA will end up with a traditional 16-team NBA playoffs, eight on each side. The Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites at 2-1 at Caesars Sportsbook.
Bets to make the playoffs
Before the season, sportsbooks offer a “yes” or “no” for all 30 NBA teams on if they will make the postseason. Once the eight regular season games are finished and the possible play-in games are done, the field will be set with 16 postseason teams. The 16 that make the official field will be graded as “yes” and the six teams that don’t qualify, as well as the eight not invited to Orlando, will be graded as “no.”
Season win totals
The decision on whether you get paid for a season win over or under ticket depends on both the state you placed the bet in and the sportsbook you placed the bet at. For example, in Nevada, for win total bets on teams that don’t play the required limit of games (at Caesars it is 81 games), the bet is voided and refunded, even if already decided. The Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs have already clinched under their win totals, while the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors clinched their respective overs.
However, in New Jersey, if you had a ticket on an “already decided” total, you would get paid out for wins and not receive a refund for a loss. Additionally, there are now eight more games to be played toward these season win totals. FanDuel said it requires teams to play a minimum of 75 games for season-win totals to be action.
It will be anyone’s title to take once the game resumes. No one team will have the momentum and the down time will surely affect players and staff. Due to the virus teams will have to be tested more often and social distance. This alone will cause stress on players. It will be interesting to see how they overcome the adversity.
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