In the last 20 years of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the winner has come from the Eastern Conference only eight times with the Miami Heat representing for the east in six of those finals (winning three) and the Cleveland Cavaliers making it to five (winning only one).

The eventual winner last season, the Milwaukee Bucks, represented the east and brushed off a feisty Phoenix Suns team that seemed destined to go all the way; however, the balance of power has been tilting to the Western Conference in the last two decades.

Following on the decade of the nineties where the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls seemed unsurmountable in the east, the teams in the west took the reigns in 1999 and have been in the driver’s seat ever since – the Los Angeles Lakers with six championships, the San Antonio Spurs with five and the Golden State Warriors with three.

This year, the front-runners in the NBA (in both conferences) have looked very impressive, and while JustBet has the league-leading Suns as the current favourite for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, the winner may come from the east again as there is very little separating the top three in both conferences.

In the east, the Miami Heat have been surging and have occupied the top spot for most of the year. They have lost only five of their last 20 games and, after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers last Saturday (March 5) and clashing with the Suns on Wednesday (March 9), the contest this evening against the Cavaliers should feel like a stroll in the park — not saying that Cleveland will be a pushover, but it will be much ‘cooler’ than the Heats going head-to-head with the Suns.

A temperature check on the Heats is on the cards tomorrow (March 12) when they welcome Karl-Anthony Towns and his Minnesota Timberwolves into FTX Arena. The Timberwolves have been on a scintillating run since the All-Star break, defeating both the Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies in that stretch, plus beating the Portland Trail Blazers 135-121 on March 5 then returning to embarrass them 124-81 on March 7 — the Heat versus Timberwolves should be a very good watch.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been bolstered by their recent trade to acquire James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets as a complement to Most Valuable Player (MVP) front-runner Joel Embiid. Harden is no longer competing with other ball-handlers — like he was in Brooklyn — and his harmony with Embiid was immediate and effective. The 76ers have left the likes of the Bucks, Bulls, Timberwolves and New York Knicks in their wake and, while there are no ‘easy’ games in the NBA, Philadelphia will face the Orlando Magic this Sunday in what must be considered a weekend stroll.

The defending champion Bucks currently occupy the No 3 slot in the east, and they have been stampeding everything in their path since the beginning of March — including the Heat, the Bulls and the Suns. Milwaukee will visit Chase Center tomorrow (March 12) to take on the Warriors who expect Draymond Green to return and for Steph Curry to emerge from his mini-slump — Golden State lost 122-113 to the Dallas Mavericks on March 3 and Curry played the entire fourth quarter without attempting a single shot, then scored only 15 points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on March 8. The Bucks versus Warriors is a must watch.

The Suns set a blistering pace at the start of the season to position themselves atop the Western Conference, but they have been without guard Chris Paul due to a thumb injury since the All-Star break, and have cooled off a bit. Last weekend, without Paul and without Devin Booker (due to COVID protocols), the Suns were short-handed and tasted defeat on Friday (March 4) against the New York Knicks and on Sunday against the Bucks.

The Suns will play the Toronto Raptors tonight (March 11) and the Lakers on Sunday (March 13) — advantage Suns in these matchups as both opponents are this close to not making the play-offs and the Lakers (except for LeBron) appear to be imploding.

The Memphis Grizzlies, with Ja Morant leading the charge, leapfrogged the Warriors last weekend into the No 2 slot in the west, following back-to-back victories over the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets on Saturday (March 5) and Sunday (March 6), respectively. The Grizzlies have a slightly tougher encounter this evening against the New York Knicks — where a Memphis win is anticipated — and the Rockets are up again this Sunday, but a Houston win is just not in the cards.

The Warriors hit the ground running but have been unable to closeout teams recently (even with large leads) which saw them slip to No 3 in the west for the first time this season, after five straight losses in the month of March. These losses include two to the Dallas Mavericks and one last Saturday (March 5) to the Lakers, where LeBron James had his best outing as a Laker, scoring 56 points.

A welcome win for the Warriors came on Tuesday (March 8) in a 112-97 victory over the Clippers, but they still have a lot to fix, and the Bucks visiting tomorrow is not an opponent they would want to face while trying to right the ship. They are hoping that talisman Draymond Green will return to reinforce the gates but, come what may, this should be the marquee NBA matchup this weekend.

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2021/22 NBA Champion

Team Odds

Phoenix Suns 5.00

Golden State Warriors 5.50

Brooklyn Nets 7.00

Milwaukee Bucks 7.50

Philadelphia 76ers 7.50

Miami Heat 11.00

Utah Jazz 16.00

Boston Celtics 18.00

Memphis Grizzlies 26.00

Chicago Bulls 26.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)