You’re not going to get much of a return if you bet the Phoenix Suns to beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The No. 1 seed Suns are -1200 at BetMGM to beat the Pelicans after New Orleans emerged over the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in tournament on Friday night. The Suns would return just $4.17 on a $50 bet to win the series.
Phoenix is a big favorite for a reason. The Suns had the best record in the NBA and were dominant throughout most of the regular season. Phoenix finished eight games ahead of Memphis for the best record in the NBA as Devin Booker and Chris Paul formed the best backcourt in the NBA. Booker averaged 26.8 points per game while Paul scored 14.7 and dished out over 10 assists per game. Deandre Ayton continued his ascendance with 17.2 points per game and 10.2 boards per game.
The Pelicans surged after a 1-12 start thanks to the acquisition of former Blazers guard CJ McCollum near the trade deadline. McCollum’s arrival helped push the Pelicans to the playoffs and he’s averaged over 24 points per game this season. Brandon Ingram has averaged nearly 23 points per game and his hot start helped get the Pelicans out to an early lead in a comeback win over the Clippers on Friday night.
The Suns are also the favorite to win the NBA title at +260. Those are considerably better odds than the Bucks at +500 or the Celtics at +750. The No. 2 favorite from the West are the Golden State Warriors at +1000.
If you want to go with the underdog, you can take the Pelicans at +750. That’s a risky bet given the Suns are a near-even money favorite to win the West at +105. The Warriors are the No. 2 favorite at +500.
The favored outcome in the series is a 4-1 Phoenix win at +170. A series sweep by the Suns is at +210 while a seven-game win is at +500. A Pelicans sweep is a whopping +15000 while a New Orleans win in five games is at +8000.
