How The Vegas 'Sharp Money' Is Betting On The NBA Playoffs: Nothing But Nets?

The NBA Playoffs are underway and a few teams have already been knocked out. Many sports fans and oddsmakers have been impressed with the Brooklyn Nets and how effortlessly the team was able to dispose of the Boston Celtics.

Currently, the Nets are the favorites to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Here are the updated and current odds for the NBA Championship:

• Brooklyn Nets +175
• Utah Jazz +350
• Milwaukee Bucks +550
• Philadelphia 76ers +900
• Los Angeles Lakers +1100
• Phoenix Suns +1100
• Los Angeles Clippers +1200
• Denver Nuggets +2500
• Atlanta Hawks +3300
• Dallas Mavericks +3300
• Portland Trailblazers +8000

See Also: How To Read Sports Spreads

The Nets are the heavy favorite, listed at +170 on the Draftkings DKNG Sports Book. This means that if a bettor lays $100 on the Nets to win, they could win $170.00 off that $100 bet. The oddsmakers clearly feel confident the Nets have a great chance of winning the championship, with the next favorite, the Utah Jazz, listed at +350.

Injuries have plagued many teams this postseason, most notably Lakers’ big man Anthony Davis injuring his groin, effectively killing the Lakers’ hopes of repeating last year’s championship victory. Additionally, Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is battling a nerve issue in his neck as well as Chris Paul dealing with a shoulder injury.

Smart Money: A lot of "sharps" or professional gamblers are betting on the Nets to win the championship. This could be because despite being heavy favorites, the odds are still favorable for bettors (win more money than laying down to bet). One gambler in Nevada threw $100,000 on the Nets to win, dwarfing other bets on the team.

Longshot: The Phoenix Suns look like they could provide some serious value to bettors at +1100. Point guard Chris Paul has been able to play through his shoulder injury, complimenting prolific scorer Devin Booker and big man Deandre Ayton.

If the Suns advance past the Lakers (who they're currently leading 3-2 in the series) they only have one team in the West that are favored over them (the Utah Jazz). This should make the Suns’ path to the finals very feasible and in a series against the Nets, anything could happen.

Photo credit: Eric Kilby, Flickr