Sportsbook.com Posts NBA Odds

With a little over a week to go before the start of the 2005/06 NBA regular season, Sportsbook.com has listed its odds on who will win the title, who will claim the Eastern and Western Conferences and how many games each team will win. While defending champion San Antonio remains the favorite, odds makers are favoring a couple of teams to finally dethrone Detroit in the East.

The Spurs are a 5-2 bet to win their second straight title and fourth championship in the Tim Duncan era. They are followed at 7-2 by a largely revamped Miami Heat squad that is still likely to go as far as Shaq and Dwayne Wade can carry them. Indiana, who suffered through a slate of suspensions last year is a 10-1 bet followed by Detroit at 12-1. LeBron James and the Cavaliers are listed at 22-1 while Los Angeles at 35-1 and New York at 40-1 look to improve on disappointing seasons.

The race for the Western Conference seems to be a one horse race, but the top three teams may all come from the Lone Star State. The Spurs are listed at 10-11, followed by Dallas and Houston at 8-1. The battle for the East is likely to be more hotly contested, with Miami (3-2), Indiana (4-1) and Detroit (5-1) all legitimate candidates. Odds makers are also expecting a resurgence from the New Jersey Nets, a 15-1 bet in the East.

Finally, Sportsbook.com has posted over/under odds on total wins by each team this year. Will Miami lead the League in wins with an over/under of 58? With odds set at 42.5, will Larry Brown finally lead New York to another winning season? How far will last year's top team, Phoenix, fall in 2006? Sportsbook has them listed at over/under 43.5 wins after winning 60 last year. And will the Atlanta Hawks break the 20 win plateau? They currently have the lowest over/under at 21.5?

"There are a lot of interesting sub plots and story lines that are making this year difficult to handicap," says Peter Childs, odds maker, Sportsbook.com. "Larry Brown's return to New York will have an impact, as will LeBron James continued development in Cleveland and Stoudamire's injury in Phoenix. But at the end of the day, will anyone be able to stop Duncan and the Spurs?"