The Boston Celtics have been the favorites to win the NBA championship for the entirety of the season. But there is a team that has been more dominant through the first 30+ games of their schedule, as the Cleveland Cavaliers have opened up a 4-game lead in the Eastern Conference.
Cavaliers On Pace To Have 3rd Best Season In NBA History
Kenny Atkinson’s team had one of the best starts in league history, winning each of their first 15 regular season games. Their victories came by comfortable margins, too, as just two of those opponents lost by fewer than 5 points. They were led by a balanced scoring attack, with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland leading the way as the primary options for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers hit a bit of a rough patch in November, losing 3 out of 5 to end their undefeated streak and drop them to 17-3. But since the calendar turned over to December, they have lost just one out of their ten games, and are now 27-4 headed into their final two games of the month. Only eight teams in NBA history have had a better mark through their first 31 games, and five of those went on to win the championship.
But if you were to check the sportsbooks for which teams have the shortest championship odds, you wouldn’t find the Cavaliers at the top.
Another one in the books. #LetEmKnow
With last nights win in Denver, we now have our best start through 31 games in franchise history with an @NBA-best 27-4 record. pic.twitter.com/oZr8nN0wTk
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 28, 2024
Based on the odds board, it appears to be a two team race between the Celtics and the Thunder, as the only two teams with a designation shorter than +900. But it isn’t the Cavs that are in that third slot. Instead, it is the New York Knicks who are +900, despite currently being 5.5 games back in the standings. In fact, Cleveland isn’t even in the top-5 according to DraftKings, with both the Mavericks and Nuggets being listed with shorter odds.
The Cavaliers are all the way back in the 6th spot, coming in with a designation of +1700.
The lack of respect from the oddsmakers could change in the coming days. Cleveland will be going through one of its toughest stretches of the season over the next 10 days, with matchups against the Warriors, Lakers, Mavericks, and Thunder looming. Three of those will be played on the road. If they are able to continue their winning ways after that gauntlet, their championship odds should drop a few points.
The Cavaliers currently have a winning percentage of 87.1%. Transposed over a full 82 game season, that puts them on pace to win 71 of them.
