The NBA season ends on Wednesday, and it's the time of the year to start picking an NBA Champion. The preliminary favorite at the beginning of the season was San Antonio, at 7 to 2, and those odds have only gone up as the season has gone on. The Spurs are currently favored at 6 to 5, and while they have the second best record in the NBA, a Hall of Fame power forward, an All-Star point guard, and a dynamic bench, I'm putting my money on the winningest rookie coach in NBA history.
Under Avery Johnson, the Mavericks won 16 of their first 18 games last season, and have gone 66-12 in his first 82 games as a head coach. Despite the loss of Michael Finley and MVP Steve Nash, the Maverick have won 60 plus games and are ranked in the top ten in the league in both defense and offense, despite injuries to Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels, Devin Harris, and Keith Van Horn. With a 4-1 payout, the Mavericks have the best odds of the top 5 teams in the NBA. They do have to play San Antonio on the road, but they split both home and away games with them this season, winning the previous matchup by 6. The real key for Dallas is their shift from a scoring machine to a serious defensive team, and it's defense that wins championships.
If you are looking for a long shot, the Bulls have won 11 of their last thirteen games to clinch a playoff spot out of nowhere. A 7th seed has never won an NBA Championship, but if anyone can do it, it's the Chicago Bulls. Aside from the team's storied past, this is a squad with a tremendous amount of young, energetic talent that prides itself on defense above all else. Their hardnosed coach has transformed a formerly dysfunctional, apathetic squad into the relentless team which pummeled the Miami Heat to clinch the playoffs. At 50-1, they are worth throwing a few bucks at.
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