Barring a catastrophic injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder will hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy for a second straight season.
The reigning champions have breezed through the first five games of this year’s NBA postseason with victories by 9, 12, 13, 18 and 35 points.
And you could make the case they didn’t play well in a couple of those games.
Scary, isn’t it?
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Oklahoma City is already as high as -200 to win it all.
“I would be surprised if they didn’t win the title,” Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk management Jeff Sherman told me.
“They’re on another level and their closest ‘competition’ comes from a youthful, inexperienced San Antonio team. The Spurs must go through the learning process to reach the success the Thunder have already achieved.”
If the Thunder take on San Antonio in the Western Conference finals, Sherman estimates the price would be OKC -250 in a best-of-seven series. The price would be even steeper if the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced.
As for the NBA Finals, think bigger.
“I make OKC -350 against the Knicks,” Sherman admitted.
With a sweep over the Luka Dončić-less Lakers feeling imminent, now would be the time to buy some Oklahoma City title stock if you’re on the fence. If you don’t want to lay the -170 at Caesars or DraftKings, let’s get creative.
Consider wheeling the Thunder with other things.
An OKC title parlay with the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup pays out over 3/1. That’s a pretty decent shake for two things that are likely to happen, and you’ve converted two favorites into a $3 underdog.
Want more? How about a parlay with the Thunder, Avalanche and Portugal to win the World Cup?
France is the betting favorite and Portugal is a little down the board at 11/1, but that price explodes the three-teamer to almost 50/1.
The best part about that parlay is that the basketball and hockey postseasons will end during group play of the World Cup. So if the Thunder and Avalanche take care of their business, you’ll be in a great spot. You could add a couple other teams to win the World Cup and have three live bullets.
Just sayin.’
Earlier this week, I built a four-teamer with Oklahoma City to win the NBA title, Colorado to win the Stanley Cup, Scottie Scheffler to win the PGA Championship and the Chicago White Sox to make the playoffs.
That’s 250/1.
I’m generally against parlays on a day-to-day basis because of the volatility and the unlikeliness of four or five things all happening in the same day. And don’t get me started on four or five things happening in the same game.
Sportsbooks love when you bet those.
That said, starting a futures parlay with something that Las Vegas already believes is going to happen is a step in the right direction. I highly recommend the Thunder-Avalanche parlay and if you want to add more, be my guest.
Thunder up.
