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NBA betting: 76ers' success with James Harden has bettors really excited

nick bromberg
College football and motorsports writer
·2 min read
1

James Harden’s early Philadelphia success has bettors salivating about the 76ers’ chances of winning the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia’s share of wagers to win the East at BetMGM keeps growing as the Sixers move up the standings. Philadelphia is now second in the Eastern Conference behind the Miami Heat and has won five of six games since Harden made his debut for the team against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 25.

The Sixers are now getting 22.4% of wagers to win the East and 30.3% of the handle — the total money wagered on Eastern Conference winners — at BetMGM. That’s up from a week ago. On March 1, Philly had just under 20% of wagers and 29% of the handle to win the conference.

Philadelphia’s share of NBA Finals tickets has also grown incrementally. A week ago, the 76ers had 9.7% of NBA title wagers. They now have 10.8% of title wagers. The Sixers are currently at +325 to win the Eastern Conference and +650 to win the Finals.

The most popular pick to win the Finals continues to be the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are getting 21% of tickets and nearly 24% of the money on NBA Finals wagers. They’re also the overwhelming favorite of bettors to win the West with a third of tickets and almost 48% of the money.

The Suns are at +450 to win the Finals and tied with the slumping Golden State Warriors at those odds. The Warriors opened at +1200 — better than the Suns at +1400 — and are getting 14% of tickets to win the title.

While the Sixers, Suns and Warriors have seen their title odds improve, the Nets have seen theirs get worse. Brooklyn opened at +225 to win the title with Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. But the trade of Harden to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, Durant’s knee injury and Irving’s vaccine refusal have pushed the Nets to +650 to win the NBA Finals. Brooklyn still has the fourth-most money bet to win the Finals at 10.2%.

NBA Finals favorites

  • Golden State Warriors (+450)

  • Phoenix Suns (+450)

  • Milwaukee Bucks (+600)

  • Brooklyn Nets (+650)

  • Philadelphia 76ers (+650)

  • Miami Heat (+900)

Eastern Conference favorites

  • Bucks (+280)

  • Nets (+320)

  • 76ers (+325)

  • Heat (+450)

Western Conference favorites

James Harden #1 and Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center on March 7, 2022. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)