The 2016 NBA season has reached its half way mark with the All-star break and online sportsbooks are anticipating how the playoffs are going to shape up. Now, the Western Conference has currently the best teams in the NBA currently, the competition for the 8 post-season spots are going to be fire and the playoffs are going to be thrilling, but right now it’s time to focus our attention to the Eastern Conference and see which are the teams that will be going to the Playoffs and who will go on to lose to the Golden State Warriors on the NBA Finals.
At the moment of the All-Star Break the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors are disputing the top #1 post in the Eastern Conference, with Boston lurking at the third position hoping to make a jump to the top. These are the top three contenders to the Eastern Conference Championship with out a doubt. However, it would appear that the Cavaliers might have a certain edge, specially if LeBron James and company are able to manage to get a roll going on the second half of the regular season.
Further down on the standings there are a couple of teams that could make a jump in the standings and cause things to be a bit more chaotic. The Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls could become online sportsbooks favorites to make it a run on the playoffs. The Bulls in particular, have had a season with highs and lows. At the beginning of the season they were thought to have enough talent and chances to be in the top 3 teams in the East, but their season has had several underwhelming performances. If the Bulls manage to have a revival of some sort at the second half of the season they could very well be on their way to a much higher position and probably even get a home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The same goes for the Heat.
Finally, on the outside looking in we have Detroit, Orlando, Washington and New York. Of the bunch, the Pistons have a much better chance of bumping off Charlotte or even Chicago off the Playoffs for an 8th spot. The main issue here with these teams is the inconsistency they have, not managing to string wins back-to-back, and losing games that could cost them in the end. Online sportsbooks do not give them enough chance to make it to the playoffs.
This second half of the season might see some changes in the standings but one thing is for sure. The Cavaliers are the front runners and will revamp the Finals we saw last season. Online Sportsbooks will hold them favorites all the way up to the Conference Finals, but then with the phenomenal Warriors at the finals, things will be very different.
