Can the Celtics and Bruins Bring Home Championships for Boston?
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Retail sports betting in Massachusetts officially went live on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Former athletes and celebrities flocked to the state’s three casinos to place their first legal sports bets at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Planridge Park Casino in Plainville and MGM Springfield.
One popular team past athletes were looking to back was the Boston Celtics.
Former New England Patriots Ty Law and Julian Edelman both put large wagers on the Celtics to win the title, with Law betting $1,000 and Edelman laying down $11,000 on them to win the championship.
Currently, only the state’s casinos are accepting legal retail sports bets. Massachusetts’ online sports betting market is set to launch on March 1, allowing the state’s residents to bet on their mobile devices and use popular sports betting apps such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
With Massachusetts sports betting now underway, here are where the state’s professional sports teams currently stand in their futures markets.
Boston Celtics Looking for Another Title for Storied Franchise
The Celtics are the NBA betting favorite to win the NBA Finals at FanDuel (+390) and have the lowest odds to win the Eastern Conference (+180).
Boston has the best record in the NBA at 36-15 and is currently the only one to rank within the Top 5 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Jayson Tatum has keyed the Celtics with a career-best season on the offensive end, averaging 31.1 points, 4.4 assists and 8.7 rebounds per contest. Tatum currently has the fourth-best odds to win MVP on FanDuel at +1300, trailing Denver’s Nikola Jokic (-105), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (+230) and Dallas’ Luka Doncic (+550).
Another championship for the Celtics would be their 17th, the most in NBA history.
Boston Bruins Looking for First Title in 11 Years
Similar to the Celtics, the Bruins are the NHL betting favorite. Boston has a league-high 81 points and a 38-7-5 record.
The Bruins are -310 to claim the Presidents’ Cup and +260 to win the Eastern Conference.
David Pastrnak has led Boston with 38 goals and 33 assists, giving him the fourth-most points in the league this season.
Pastrnak is second in Hart Memorial Trophy betting at +1800 behind the overwhelming favorite, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (-700), who leads the NHL with 92 points.
The Bruins are +500 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.
New England Patriots Not the Power They Once Were
Super Bowl LVII is still to be played between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, but DraftKings has already posted odds for next year’s NFL champion.
The Patriots lost five of seven down the stretch to take themselves out of the playoffs.
New England is no longer the expected Super Bowl contender in the AFC, with numerous questions surrounding the team, including quarterback Mac Jones’ future and the lack of skill players on the offense.
So, being +5000 on DraftKings to win the Super Bowl next year seems fair before offseason moves kick in and the NFL draft happens in April.
Boston Red Sox Did Little in Offseason to Inspire Hope
The Red Sox are MLB betting long shots for a reason. Key members from its 78-84 season in 2022 are now elsewhere. DraftKings has them at +8000.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts is on the San Diego Padres. Offensive threat J.D. Martinez is a Los Angeles Dodger and left-handed pitcher Matt Strahm joined the Philadelphia Phillies.
In addition to the departures, Boston failed to secure one of the top free agents this offseason or substantially improve the team through the trade market.
The uninspiring offseason doesn’t give much reason for bettors to back one of the city’s teams that aren’t set to compete for a championship.
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