NBA Finals Odds With the Lakers Out

The Los Angeles Lakers are out of the NBA Playoffs (!!!), leaving many users in need of a new championship bet.

FanDuel Sportsbooks has updated its odds to reflect the remaining nine teams:

For the first time in close to a decade, the number of NBA teams that can plausibly win it all eclipses three.

At +900, the Suns jump out. While Chris Paul's injury worries me, there's a lot of talent on this roster. Devin Booker is a stud, a star. And if Jae Crowder, Cameron Payne and Cameron Johnson continue to knock down three-pointers, Phoenix can shoot any team out of the gym. That includes the Nets.

In the West, it's hard to convince me the Jazz, with less value at +300, are a better bet than the Suns.

The Bucks intrigue at +500. The disparity between the Bucks' and Nets' odds shows that Vegas is confident that the Nets knock the Bucks out in Round 2. Perhaps, but the chances of that happening are closer to 50-50 than the Vegas odds indicate.

Milwaukee is finally figuring out how to win big games. Brooklyn's Big 3, for all their glamour, still show growing pains, which shouldn't be a surprise since they've played fewer than 15 games together. Should the Bucks pull off an upset and advance in Round 2, they'll be my Finals pick.

Bet the NBA Finals winner and all of the NBA and NHL playoffs games now at FanDuel Sportsbook.