Sports Betting Futures Odds: NBA to Tip Off, Making All Four Major Sports in Action

by Ricky Dimon - 10/23/2015

San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker

Next week will be one of the busiest in sports, with the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA all sharing the stage. While the football season nears its midway point, the 2015-16 basketball campaign is set to begin. LeBron James and the Cavs are expected to make a return trip to the finals-where they could have one of two familiar foes awaiting them.

All odds provided by MyBookie.ag.

NBA Championship

Cleveland Cavaliers (+200) - We'll never know how Cleveland would have fared in this summer's championship series against Golden State with a healthy Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Perhaps we'll find out in 2016. Tristan Thompson is back on board, so-barring injuries-LeBron has a great supporting cast.

San Antonio Spurs (+300) - The rich got richer when San Antonio won the offseason's LaMarcus Aldridge sweepstakes. Although Tim Duncan and friends are not getting any younger, they may not have to. Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard are firmly in their prime and are capable of putting the Spurs back on top.

Golden State Warriors (+350) - Everything came up roses for the Warriors in 2014-15. They remained healthy while other contenders dropped like flies and-according to Clippers' head coach Doc Rivers-got a lucky draw. Golden State will always have a chance if Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson keep shooting the lights out.

Oklahoma City Thunder (+550) - Scott Brooks is out; Billy Donovan is in. Donovan is obviously a proven winner, albeit not at the NBA level. There is no denying that he has inherited an extremely talented Thunder squad. The question is: can Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook stay healthy for a whole season?

NFC Championship

Green Bay Packers (+150) - Aaron Rodgers has the Packers currently on course for the No. 1 seed in the conference at 6-0 heading into their bye week. For the most part the schedule is friendly because the rest of the NFC North is terrible, but Green Bay has huge road games coming up at Denver and Carolina.

Seattle Seahawks (+500) - Seattle got back to its winning ways on Thursday night, trouncing NFC West rival San Francisco 20-3. Still, Pete Carroll's team is a disappointing 3-4 when it could conceivably be 7-0. The Seahawks have blown fourth-quarter leads in all four of their setbacks.

Arizona Cardinals (+600) - Arizona's division is shaping up to be an intriguing two-team battle, although St. Louis is still sort of in the mix at 2-3. The 4-2 Cardinals are in control for now, but they do not have any victories over teams with winning records. Their schedule is about to get tougher in a hurry.

Carolina Panthers (+800) - The Panthers are not getting too much respect from the oddsmakers despite their 5-0 record, but that could change if they snag home-field advantage or at least a bye as the No. 2 seed. Cam Newton is in the serious MVP discussion after leading Carolina's comeback against Seattle.

CampingWorld.com 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+500) - The Earnhardts used to own this Talladega race. Dale Sr. won it a whopping seven times and Dale Jr. is second on the all-time list with three triumphs. But Junior has not taken home the checkered flag since 2004 and he finished 31^st last year. He must prevail on Sunday in order to reach the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Matt Kenseth (+750) - In a similar situation, Kenseth also needs a win to advance after getting into a dust-up last week with Joey Logano that prevented him from crossing the line first in Charlotte. The No. 20 car got the job done at this event in 2012 and finished runner-up to Brad Keselowski last season, so it knows how to succeed at this track.

Jimmie Johnson (+750) - Johnson is already gone from the Chase, so he does not have to worry about anything aside from trying to pick up a few wins down the stretch. He has never won this race and finished a lowly 24^th in 2014. Johnson, who owns four wins this season, is coming off a third-place showing in Kansas.

Kevin Harvick (+1000) - With a ridiculous 20 top-five performances this year, Harvick is sailing through to the next round of the Chase. He would, however, like to improve on his three titles. The No. 4 Chevrolet has never triumphed at this event, but it finished ninth last season after starting way back in the pack in 39 ^th position.

White Christmas (will it snow on Dec. 25 at the city's airport?)

Chicago, O'Hare (+145) - El Nino will generally bring warmer-than-average temperatures to the United States this winter-Chicago included. A White Christmas is no rare occasion in the Windy City, but this one could be dry. Whatever the case, Cubs fans are already ready for spring.

Washington, D.C., Reagan (+175) - For the most part El Nino means one extreme or the other in Washington, D.C.-either a very cold, stormy winter or a warm, benign season. In six El Nino winters since 1950, three yielded above average snowfall in the District, and in the other three snow was virtually non-existent.

London, Heathrow (+275) - It almost never happens, but the strong El Nino is forecasting an unusually cold and snowy winter in the United Kingdom. Cold will equal snow, because precipitation in the UK is obviously never in doubt. A White Christmas in 2009 was the first one anywhere in Great Britain since 2004.

Los Angeles, LAX (+1600) - Bring on the snow, residents might say. They still have no NFL team, the Dodgers are toast, and it would help people get in hockey mode for the Kings. A powerful El Nino would bring tons of rain and mudslides…but snow? As the odds suggest, that is doubtful at best.

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