Vegas Over Under Nba Wins
LAS VEGAS -- It's no secret things figure to be bad this season for a Philadelphia 76ers team doing little more than masquerading as an NBA franchise.
The Celtics are 25-to-1 to win the 2020 NBA Finals at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The betting line that will generate the most debate involving the Celtics before the season is their win. The Las Vegas over/under win total for the Toronto Raptors is down at 45.5. With the talent coming back next season, they should be an easy over. No bet is a sure thing.
Leave it to the oddsmakers in this gambling city to show just how bad things could be for a team contending for nothing but the NBA's next top draft pick.
As the regular season tips off, the over-under for 76ers victories is 16.5, the lowest of any team and the lowest total LVH sports book oddsmaker Jeff Sherman can remember putting up on any NBA team in the past decade or so.
That means optimistic Philly fans (assuming there are any for a team with only a handful of legitimate NBA players) can win if they bet their team will win 17 times during the 82-game season. Conversely, those who think the 76ers are even worse than they seem can cash in if the win total is 16 or fewer.
'They've pretty much made it known in Philadelphia they're trying to get the No. 1 pick for Andrew Wiggins and not holding back,' Sherman said. 'Teams try for the draft pick sometimes late in the season, but they're basically doing it the whole season.'
It gets even better for true believers. They can get odds of 9,999-1 if they want to wager at the LVH on the 76ers winning the title.
'It was the highest number our computers would let us put in,' Sherman said.
The 76ers aren't alone in coveting Wiggins, who has scouts drooling even though he's just beginning his freshman season at Kansas. Things are pretty dismal in the desert, too, with the Phoenix Suns posted as the next-worst team with an over-under total of 19.5 wins.
Perhaps most surprising, though, is that oddsmakers have such little respect for the chances of the Los Angeles Lakers and their aging and injury-prone cast of stars. They believe the Lakers will lose more than they win, with an over-under of 34.5 wins for the season.
'We've been writing a lot of over money from the public having a hard time believing the Lakers are going to be that bad,' Sherman said. 'We have a different view when you look at how severe Kobe's injury is and the mileage of [Steve] Nash and [Pau] Gasol.'
Sherman, who teams with fellow oddsmaker Ed Salmons to put up the first betting lines weeks before the season opens, has the defending champion Miami Heat favored again for most wins, though with an over-under of 60.5 he doesn't believe the Heat will approach last season's win total of 66.
'That was one of the easier ones and it was close to what we had last year,' he said. 'They won more than that last year, but that included a 27-game winning streak that we don't expect to be repeated.'
Miami is also favored at 2-1 to win another NBA title, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9-2, the Chicago Bulls at 6-1 and the San Antonio Spurs at 8-1.
The NBA season is almost upon us, and with Las Vegas sports books releasing each team’s season win total line, our own Luke Kerr-Dineen and Nate Scott do the honors of picking the over/under for each team.
All teams listed alphabetically, odds courtesy of Bovada.lv:
Atlanta Hawks, 43½
Luke Kerr-Dineen: Over. Jeff Teague and Al Horford are gone, but Paul Millsap was the best player on this team anyway. Dwight Howard is still solidly functional, and I’m more bullish on Dennis Schroder than some. This team isn’t five wins worse.
Nate Scott: Under. The departure of Al Horford will be hard to overcome, and I’m not sold on Dwight Howard being the guy who fixes all the problems there. I have them at 41 wins, a slight under.
Boston Celtics, 52½
LKD: Over. Al Horford is a good piece for a team that’s moving in the right direction. If the Celts establishes itself as the second-best team in the East, it should be enough to hit the over.
NS: Under. This is going to be a great team, and I think they’ll finish in the top 3 in the East, but I think Vegas is slapping a 2.5 game tax because they know Boston fans are extremely proud and like to gamble on their boys. This seems like a 50 or 51-win team to me.
Brooklyn Nets, 20½
LKD: Over. Was ready to take the under until Ben Simmons went down and doomed the 76ers to another season of tanking. Even the Nets, as bad as they are, should win more than 20 games (right?!).
NS: Under. They are going to stink.
Charlotte Hornets, 42½
LKD: Under. I’m sorry, Charlotte, but I’m just not ready to believe in you.
NS: Under. But just barely. Love the guards, not sold on the bigs. I think they sneak into the playoffs, but I see them right at 42 wins.
Chicago Bulls, 38½
LKD: Under. This team is a hot mess.
NS: Over. I have no idea how these pieces are going to fit together, but Dwyane Wade has won everywhere he’s gone and I’m betting on them pulling out games in weird ways.
Cleveland Cavaliers, 56½
LKD: Under. With fewer outside factors pushing them on (the LeBron-Championship narrative, Golden State’s win streak, Toronto’s emergence), and the team wanting to pace LeBron for another playoff run, the Cavs will probably settle for winning the conference hitting the under.
NS: Over. I don’t care if LeBron takes a few months at 80% and then turns it up in the postseason, they’re so clearly the best team in the East that I think they’ll push for 60 wins.
Dallas Mavericks, 38½
LKD: Under. I take Nate’s point, but the West is so strong this year, just not sure where a dicey Dallas team is going to find these wins.
NS: Over. How many times are we going to underestimate Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban? I don’t care how shaky the roster looks; the Mavericks always win at least 41 games.
Denver Nuggets, 37
LKD: Over. A talented, young roster that many are pegging as their dark horse team to make a run this season.
NS: Over. But just barely. I like what they’re doing, and hopefully Emmanuel Mudiay can avoid the turnovers this season. Thirty-eight wins sounds right to me
Detroit Pistons, 45½
LKD: Under. Going to be hard to get to this number, especially, if Reggie Jackson’s injury is as bad as feared.
NS: Under. Again, just barely. This team overachieved a little bit last year, winning 44 games, and I see them right at that again.
Golden State Warriors, 66½
LKD: Under. Golden State is the only team to win more than 66 games in back-to-back seasons. Even with Durant, I just can’t see them doing it again. Something will happen to prevent it.
NS: Over. Whatever. They’re going to score a million points a game.
Houston Rockets, 44
Vegas Over Under Nba Wins 2020-2021
LKD: Over. And James Harden for MVP. Completely and unabashedly all-in on the Rockets this year. It’s going to be so much fun.
NS: Over. I think they’re going to go full tilt with James Harden running a high-powered Mike D’Antoni offense, which will be difficult for bad teams to keep up with.
Indiana Pacers, 44½
LKD: Over. Part of me wants to see them go under as payback for the way they ousted Frank Vogel, but Jeff Teague is another solid addition to a nice team.
NS: Under. Love some things they’re doing, but not sure I love the coaching change.
Los Angeles Clippers, 53½
LKD: Over. Will be close, but I could see them stealing a few wins (and slipping just ahead) from the Durant-less Thunder.
NS: Under. Just barely – they’ll be good, but the Western Conference will be tough again. I see them at 53 wins.
Los Angeles Lakers, 24½
LKD: Under. If this team wasn’t called the “Lakers,” no way the line would be 24½.
NS: Under. One more year of waiting, Tinseltown.
Memphis Grizzlies, 42½
LKD: Over. Three-straight years of more than 50 wins before an injury-ravaged nightmare last season. The Grizzlies will bounce back. At the very least, it’ll sneak over 42 wins.
NS: Under. Can’t believe I’m writing it, but the ship might have sailed with this unit. This looks like a .500 team to me.
Miami Heat, 34½
LKD: Over. A transition year in Miami, but Hassan Whiteside and co. are good enough defensively to get Miami to at least 35 wins.
NS: Over. So much has happened with this team it’s tough to imagine them winning 35 games, but Erik Spoelstra is still one of the most innovative and smart coaches in the league and there’s talent, especially defensive talent, here.
Milwaukee Bucks, 34½
LKD: Over. Should be a few wins better than last year.
NS: Over. I think they make a playoff push. It’s GIANNIS TIME
Minnesota Timberwolves, 40½
LKD: Under. Still think they’re a year away from really impressing.
Vegas Over Under Nba Wins
NS: Over. It’s time for the young’uns to do the thing.
New Orleans Pelicans, 37
LKD: Over, but I’ll defer to the former New Orleans resident on this one…
NS: Over. This is one of the strangest teams in the league in terms of roster makeup, but you can’t keep the Brow down.
New York Knicks, 38½
LKD: Over. This is the NBA’s new Super Team, after all. But jokes aside, bizarre as its offseason moves may have been, six or seven more wins in a weak Eastern Conference shouldn’t be out of the question.
NS: Over. This is an important year for Carmelo Anthony, and I think he steps up. This is the team I’m most intrigued by.
Oklahoma City Thunder, 43½
LKD: Over. I want to root for this. I want to see Russell Westbrook go peak Russell Westbrook. And besides, Durant’s offseason move overshadowed some of the genuinely good pieces that remain on this team.
NS: Under. Russell Westbrook is a strong MVP candidate and could go Super Saiyan this entire season, but there are too many holes here.
Orlando Magic, 37½
LKD: Under. Bit of a coin flip. Can they squeak three extra wins this season? Hardly out of the question, but “no” seems the more likely answer.
NS: Under. Lot of interesting pieces, they’ll be a nightmare defensively, but I don’t know who their go-to guy is. Evan Fournier? Is that their crunch-time scorer?
Philadephia 76ers, N/A
Line has been yanked since news of Ben Simmons’ injury, so stay tuned!
Phoenix Suns, 30
LKD: Under. Yea, not looking good for Phoenix.
NS: Under. The rebuild is on!
Portland Trailblazers, 45½
LKD: Under. A coin flip, really. Mainly just doing this to annoy Nate.
NS: Over. I was beyond way off on the Trail Blazers last season, and I won’t make the same mistake again. My favorite backcourt in the league not located in Golden State.
Sacramento Kings, 34
LKD: Over. A bit of a laughing stock, but even so, 34 wins really shouldn’t be that hard to eclipse when you have a guy like DeMarcus Cousins on your team.
NS: Over. I don’t feel good about this one, but I had them at 35 wins when I guessed blind, so I’m sticking with it. Boogie is too good to let them suck this bad.
San Antonio Spurs, 58½
LKD: Under. Worth nothing though that Popovich-coached teams have only surpassed 58 wins in three of the last 10 seasons. And now they don’t have Tim Duncan.
NS: Over. Pop teams win 60.
Toronto Raptors, 50½
NS: Over. Yes, they over-performed last season, but shedding at least six wins in an already weak conference is a pretty big regression.
NS: Under. Did this team really get better? Doesn’t it feel like they hit their ceiling last year?
Utah Jazz, 49
LKD: Under. Always wary of unproven teams that become the trendy pick in one offseason. Nine wins higher than its preseason win total last season. No thanks.
NS: Under. I think this team is good, just not 50-wins good.
Washington Wizards, 42½
LKD: Over. It’ll be close, but I *think* they’ll have enough to inch them over the .500 mark.
NS: Over. They have to be better than last year. Right? RIGHT?