The Golden State Warriors are pulling away from the field in the eyes of the betting markets. Already well on pace for the best record in NBA history, their latest theatrics—a 121-118 overtime win at Oklahoma City on Saturday night—has improved their odds for a repeat championship.
Reigning MVP Steph Curry led the win over the Thunder with 46 points and 12 3-pointers, including the game-winner from about 30 feet out. As the most-watched non-Christmas regular season game in three years, it set off a storm on social media, and it didn’t take long for sports books to reflect the after effects.
NBA Champ
Warriors 5/7
Cavaliers 11/4
Spurs 4/1
Thunder 18/1
Clippers 20/1
Raptors 20/1Warriors -140
Field (all others) +120— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) February 28, 2016
NBA proposition Golden St Warriors win 73 or more games in 2015-16 regular season? Yes -300 No +250 — Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) February 28, 2016
The Warriors have been the favorites or co-favorites to win the 2016 title since mid-November, but the odds have shortened significantly over the last month. At the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, Golden State was listed at 3/2 favorites following a mid-January mini-slump in which they lost twice in a week.
Those losses, coupled with a back-loaded schedule prompted Westgate to take down the 73-win prop, fearful of a beating on “No” bets, and declare the Warriors had “no chance” of surpassing the 1995-96 Bulls record for wins in a season.
Immediately after, Golden State went on a a tear. They’ve won 16 of 17 since then, defeating Eastern Conference favorite Cleveland by 34 points, and San Antonio—which holds the league’s second-best record—by 30, as part of an 11-game winning streak. In the midst of their current run, the 73-win prop went back up.
Last week, the odds on “Yes” moved from -110 to -125 to -150 with wins over the Hawks, Heat and Magic, and SuperBook assistant manager Jeff Sherman said Westgate was taking “a ton of action” on the prop, mostly in support of the Warriors, who are now at 53-5 with 24 games remaining.
Fourteen of those games will come against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, including three more against the Spurs.
AROUND THE WEB
- January was another record-breaking month for sports books in Nevada.
- Western Union reportedly facing probe for laundering transactions for Costa Rica-based gambling companies.
- DFS bills are making progress in Mississippi and Vermont, two states where the games were recently declared illegal.
- Adam Scott took home the win at the Honda Classic.
- Jimmie Johnson ties Dale Earnhardt record with win at Atlanta on Sunday.
LOOK WHO’S TALKING
“No. No. Not even close. Not even an input, a thought or a consideration. None. None whatsoever. I want to be real clear on that.” —Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on whether sports gambling allegations had anything to do with the team’s decision to release Joseph Randle in November.
TWEETS OF NOTE
“Of course it’s sports betting. It doesn’t mean that it’s subject necessarily to the same laws” – @JoeAsher, CEO of @WilliamHillUS on #DFS — Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) February 26, 2016
ODDS & ENDS
- ESPN’s David Purdum reported on his Facebook page that no deal is imminent to bail out troubled DFS site FantasyHub, but “serious serious discussions are taking place to complete a deal with the goal of squaring everyone—players, charities and affiliates—up.”
- No more real-money season-long fantasy leagues from ESPN.
- A look at the effect of March Madness on gaming’s bottom line.
- Police investigating allegations of inappropriate betting on Australian basketball games.
ODDSMAKER’S TAKE
“I think there are 16 teams that could win it all and another 18 that could get to the Final Four.”—William Hill US sports book director Nick Bogdanovich on what’s expected to be a wide-open field in this year’s NCAA tournament.