2024 NBA Eastern Conference Odds - NBA Betting Lines

NBA Eastern Conference Betting Online

The Boston Celtics were the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference during the 2023-24 NBA regular season and they are the favorites to come out of the East as the NBA Playoffs begin.  The Celtics had the best record in the league and they finished a ridiculous 14 games in front of the 2nd place New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are led by the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and the team also has a lot of depth. It would be a surprise if the Celtics don’t win the Eastern Conference. That being said, we have yet to see Boston win anything with the duo of Tatum and Brown leading the way.  The New York Knicks are the No. 2 seed in the East but without Julius Randle it seems unlikely the Knicks can beat Boston. The No. 3 seed is the Milwaukee Bucks and they would seem to be more of a threat, as the Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo and they are also playing with a lot of motivation, having lost in the first-round last year. The other teams to make the playoffs in seeding order are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers. The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks are the four play-in teams competing for the last two spots in the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.

NBA Betting Lines

NBA Eastern Conference First Round

1. Boston Celtics vs. 8. Miami Heat

2. New York Knicks vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers

3. Milwaukee Bucks vs. 6. Indiana Pacers

4. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5. Orlando Magic

The Celtics could have a tough first-round matchup, as they could face the 76ers or the Heat. The second-round matchup might actually be easier for Boston. The Knicks are the same spot, as they could face the 76ers or Heat. The Knicks are led by Jalen Brunson and they are capable of winning a series or two.

The Bucks have Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard so they will not be an easy out. The Bucks won’t have to face the 76ers or Heat in the first round, but they will face an Indiana team that was 4-1 against them in the regular season.

The matchup between the Cavaliers and Magic looks to be a toss-up. Neither team looks like they are serious contender to win the East. The Cavs do have Donovan Mitchell and a strong supporting cast but Orlando has Paulo Banchero.

Normally when you talk about play-in teams you don’t give them much of a chance to win the conference, but Philadelphia has Joel Embiid and when he is healthy, he can be a major force and the 76ers can beat anyone. The Heat have Jimmy Butler and they are extremely well-coached and they have proven in the past they can win the Eastern Conference as underdogs. The other two play-in teams, the Bulls and Hawks don’t look to be any threat to win the conference.

Conference Winners (2000)

There has not been a repeat champion in the Eastern Conference since LeBron James took the Cleveland Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals with the help of Kyrie Irving. Cleveland won the NBA Finals in 2016, ending decades of futility among the city’s professional sports teams by beating the Golden State Warriors.

That came after James and Dwyane Wade led the Miami Heat to four straight Eastern Conference titles from 2011 to 2014. James ended up playing in eight straight NBA Finals, and that success helped spur the wild player movement that has made the NBA offseason so interesting.

Five different franchises have won the last six Eastern Conference titles. Toronto and Milwaukee went on to win the NBA title, but the other four teams fell short, including the Miami Heat twice.

Conference Finals Results By Team

The Boston Celtics have been the most successful team in the Eastern Conference by a country mile. They put together one of the greatest runs we’ve seen in North American sports by winning 11 NBA Championships in 13 seasons, and the Celtics won the Eastern Division 12 times in that stretch. They had another great run in the 1980s, winning the Eastern Conference in four straight seasons from 1984 to 1987 with Larry Bird leading the way.

Philadelphia has claimed the second-most Eastern Conference titles, but the 76ers haven’t made it to the NBA Finals since Allen Iverson was in his prime. They are one of the oldest NBA franchises, as they were originally the Syracuse Nationals, and they made it to the NBA Finals three times in their first six seasons.

We have seen the New York Knicks claim eight Eastern Conference titles, but the Knicks have not won the conference since 1999, and their last NBA title came in 1973. They made the NBA Finals three straight seasons from 1951 to 1953, but they were unable to get past the great George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers.

Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six Eastern Conference titles and six NBA championships in the 1990s. The Bulls have only been able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals once since Jordan retired though, and that was the season where Derrick Rose was named the NBA MVP.

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