NBA Finals 2018 Odds For Cavaliers, Celtics Unaffected By Irving-Thomas Trade

Arguably two of the three best players from the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals were traded for one another Tuesday when the Cleveland Cavaliers sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas. The deal, while sending shockwaves throughout the league and changing the look of both teams heading into the upcoming season, didn’t alter the betting odds for the 2018 NBA Finals.

Cleveland remains the best team in the East by a wide margin with 4/1 odds to win the championship, via the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, keeping the exact same odds that they had before the trade. Boston’s odds remain at 10/1, making them the second favorite in the conference.

Despite losing their second-best player, it would be a surprise for Cleveland to fail to reach the Finals. They’ve faced the Golden State Warriors with the title on the line in each of the last three years, and as long as LeBron James is on the team, that likely won’t change.

Irving is regarded as the better player, largely because of his performances in the postseason. He totaled 78 points in Cleveland’s two home games during last year’s NBA Finals, and his best game of the playoffs came against Boston in Game 4 of the conference finals when he scored 42 points on 22 shots. He averaged 25.8 points per game on 62.2 percent shooting in the five-game series with the Celtics, and Thomas scored just 19 points in 56 minutes before his season was ended with a hip injury.

Thomas had a better regular season than Irving, finishing fifth in MVP voting. His 28.9 points per game led all players in the East, and he averaged more than Irving’s 25.2 points per game while taking fewer field-goal attempts.

The Cavs aren’t considered to be any worse after the trade because they acquired Jae Crowder in addition to Thomas. The small forward is one of the NBA’s most underrated players, averaging 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range for a 53-win team. He’s a versatile defender that could be extremely valuable in a seven-game series against Kevin Durant and the Warriors.

Boston looks to be improved from a year ago when they were the East’s No.1 seed. In addition to acquiring Irving, the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward in free agency.

The Celtics traded Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for Marcus Morris in order to give Hayward a max contract. Boston also sent the Brooklyn Nets’ first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft to the Cavs as part of the Irving-for-Thomas swap.

The one change that Tuesday’s trade did bring about was new MVP odds. James’ chances of winning the award went from 6/1 to 5/1, and Thomas’ odds dropped from 30/1 all the way down to 100/1.

Now that Irving’s request was granted and he is the star of his team, his MVP odds have gone from 50/1 to 25/1.