Should the Sixers Have Better Odds to Win the NBA Finals, Compared to Other East Teams?

On December 3^rd, odds were released on which NBA team will win the NBA Finals for the 2020-2021 season.

Our Philadelphia 76ers currently sit with the 10^th best odds to win at +2200. This means, if you were to bet $100 on the Sixers to win the Finals, you would win $2,200.

This also lists the Sixers with the fifth-best odds of any Eastern Conference team. But should the Sixers have even better odds?

*The context of this article will focus on the Eastern Conference teams with better odds than the Sixers and next week we will look at the Western Conference teams.*

When looking at whether or not the Sixers should have better odds, we need to figure out if they are better than the nine teams ahead of them. Starting with the four Eastern Conference teams ahead of them, we have the Brooklyn Nets (second-best odds), the Milwaukee Bucks (third-best odds), the Boston Celtics (fifth-best odds), and the Miami Heat (sixth-best odds).

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets have tremendous amounts of unknown about them. Are Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving healthy? Can they play off one another? Now, it would be drastically irresponsible to list the Nets outside of the top ten based on potential and the Nets have tons of talent on paper, but with new a head coach in Steve Nash and players who haven’t played with one another before at the top of their rotation, the second-best odds to win the NBA Finals may be a stretch.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks, much like the Sixers, have spent the majority of the offseason improving their team. The Bucks are going all-in on this season, trading away three future first-round picks to acquire Jrue Holiday. However, it all feels as though this is Milwaukee management making one last push to prove to Giannis Antetokounmpo that they are trying to put together the best team possible around him to get him to stay. If the Bucks are unsuccessful this season, we could see Giannis leave the Bucks.

With that cloud hanging over their heads, it will be interesting to see how they fair to make a push for the NBA Championship. All that said, their current team has improved and they should most likely have better odds than our Sixers based on last season.

Boston Celtics

In an inverse situation, the argument could be made that the Celtics have gotten worse since last season. The Celtics lost a heartbreaking series in the playoffs to the Miami Heat and had tons of controversy coming out of the locker room during the playoffs.

That, along with the departure of Gordon Hayward, could mean the Celtics will take a step back this year. Another argument could be made that the Celtics are a better team without Hayward. When Hayward missed time due to injury, it allowed Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to flourish into the stars they are today. However, with all of the uncertainty surrounding that team, it seems unfair for them to be five teams higher than the Sixers in terms of odds to win the NBA Finals.

Miami Heat

The reigning Eastern Conference Champions are also being disrespected. While they have mostly stayed the same in terms of their roster, all of their young players have been exposed to the highest level of competition in the NBA last year. Having young players like Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro with a year of experience under their belt will only help them towards becoming stars in the NBA. The Miami Heat proved to be a real defensive problem for teams like the Sixers, Bucks, and Celtics all of last year.

The Heat should definitely have better odds than the Sixers right now, but they should also have better odds than the Celtics and probably the Nets as well.

Philadelphia 76ers

Finally, looking at our own team, we have told you all about the moves this offseason. PHLSixersNation has so much content to walk you through the offseason, what more is left to be said? Looking purely on talent, the Sixers have improved. Getting out of the Al Horford contract and acquiring shooters have been the headlines this offseason, but we cannot forget about the draft.

The Sixers have young talented players who can really bolster the depth the Sixers have desperately lacked. While yes, we do also have a bit of unknown about us, the Sixers have much more promise than the majority of the NBA.

In closing, the Sixers should have better odds. Probably better than the Celtics and tremendously close with the Bucks, who the Sixers can now match up with very well. As previously mentioned, next week we will look at the five Western Conference teams with better odds than the Sixers, so look out for that next Tuesday.

Do you think the Sixers should have better odds to win the NBA Finals?

Featured Image: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports