NBA Future Betting “Heats” Up

With a tip of the hat to Dennis Green…”don’t crown their asses just yet”.

We speak of the Miami Heat of course, as fans, commentators and of course, the sports betting public have been weighing in with their thoughts on the 2010-11 NBA Championship since the Lebron decided to “take his talents” to South Beach. Joining him down there is, of course, Chris Bosh and with D-Wade re-signing Miami has become the center of the NBA universe for the time being.

The big question is can they close the deal?

After the big announcement, online sportsbook Sportsbetting.com had the Heat listed as the odds-on favorite to take next season’s NBA title with odds of at +175. Sportsbook manager Brian Taylor said, “not surprisingly, we’ve seen more interest in our NBA Future betting options than any other off-season I can remember. And also not surprisingly, the Miami Heat are seeing lots of the volume, but we are seeing a reasonable amount of money coming in on the Orlando Magic in the East and the LA Lakers”

But until Miami actually wins a fourth game in the 2011 NBA Final, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA champions.

Though a Lakers and Heat matchup in the next NBA Final is far from certain (despite what will undoubtedly be obsessive meddling by David Stern and co.), LA got an early punch in against Miami.

The Heat were said to be heavily courting Derek Fisher but the guard decided against joining LeBron, Bosh and Wade and opted to re-sign with his old team.

“I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles. While this may not be the most lucrative contract I’ve been offered this off season, it is the most valuable,” Fisher said on his website.

“I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin…”

The team also brought back the Zen Master, head coach Phil Jackson, who has been bench boss for the Lakers’ last five NBA titles.

Besides Fisher, the Lakers probably won’t be adding any big-name talent – the team is four players away from the association’s roster minimum of 13 players.

The Lakers are listed at +300 to repeat as NBA champs at the sportsbooks.

If the Miami Heat do become the power in the Eastern Conference, which team will present the biggest challenge?

The Boston Celtics, who are listed at +1000 to win the 2011 title, have re-signed Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and added Jermaine O’Neal and should pack some punch.

But the intra-state rivals, the Orlando Magic could be the major hurdle for the Heat.

The Magic have re-signed backup shooting guard J.J. Redick and have added point guard Chris Duhon from the New York Knicks and shooting guard Quentin Richardson from the Miami Heat and they already have the likes of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson.

The Magic are listed at +200 to win the Eastern Conference title and +1600 to take the NBA championship during the 2010/11 campaign.

The Miami Heat have struck gold so far this off-season…but there are several teams who are ready to step up and keep the big prize out of South Beach.

We’ll keep an eye on the NBA Championship betting throughout the summer.