NBA, NHL Futures Bets Still Available

Remember when you looked at your NBA futures bets and the Celtics were favored to win the 2024 NBA title? Well, Boston is still the favorite and you can still place futures bets on the Celtics, you just won’t get the more favorable odds. Just before the 2023-24 regular season started, bettors could get Boston at +400 to win it all this year. Currently, you’ll find the Celtics a +155 to +120 favorite, depending upon your sportsbook of choice.

It’s the same with other NBA futures bets. Boston was a +220 favorite to win the Eastern Conference just after Denver won last year’s NBA title. The Celtics are still the favorite, but now they check in at -200. Philadelphia was right behind Boston at +540 at the opening of the market. Now, the Sixers, the No. 7 seed in the East, are listed at +730.

It’s a similar story with NHL futures bets. At the opening of the 2024 Stanley Cup market, it was Colorado that was the early favorite at +850. While the Avalanche’s odds have shortened, they are no longer the favorite. That role belongs to the Florida Panthers (+600). Carolina is right behind at +700.

Both the NBA and NHL playoffs begin today. Bettors can still take advantage of futures bets up until those markets close near the end of the postseason. 

Hedge Your Futures Bets

If you placed futures bets on either the NBA or NHL (or both), you can look for opportunities to guarantee that you win. Bettors can hedge their early futures bets and lock in a win. We can take a look at an example. 

Sometime around the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, you locked in a $100 bet on the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA title. The Thunder were given +6000 odds, which means you are looking at a potential profit of $6000.

Let’s say the Thunder do make the NBA Finals. They will play the favorite, the Boston Celtics, the winners of the East. For the sake of the example, we’ll say the odds are favorable and you can get Boston to win it all at +200 just before the start of the NBA Finals.

To hedge your futures bets, you put $1000 on Boston. If the Celtics win the series, you win $2000. Now, let’s look at how this all plays out. 

Your best-case scenario is for the Thunder to win. You would win $6000. But, you did make that $1000 bet on Boston so, in the end, you end up with a profit of $5000. If Boston wins, you win $2000 minus the original $100 bet plus the $1000 hedge. That leaves you with a profit of $900. 

Your worst-case scenario is that you didn’t hedge your bet and Boston wins the title. You lose your original $100 bet and the chance to have won $6000…or at least $900 with the hedge.

Sports Hub Cappers Know Futures Bets

Sports Hub handicappers know all bets, including futures bets. Check the website daily for updates on futures bets in all sports. Our experts consistently provide content related to a wide variety of topics across all sports. You’ll find information related to futures bets as well as content on hedging bets.

Yesterday, our elite handicappers put up another strong day. The Bookie was our top dog. With a name like The Bookie, it makes sense that he put up five wins in his five picks. Our Top 5 was outstanding yesterday, but it’s important to note that the top 47 handicappers on our leaderboard yesterday all made at least $100.

Let’s check out our leaders.

• The Bookie knows bets: Futures bets, spread bets, totals bets, you name it. The Bookie is uniquely equipped to deal with whatever comes his way. Yesterday, it was five picks and five wins, including two MLB picks on underdogs. That gave The Bookie profits of $530.
• Coach ‘em up: Coach Rick was back in the mix yesterday with a perfect 4-0 day. Coach dialed in three MLB picks, including the Cubs to cover the run line against Miami at +120. That gave Coach Rick $420 in profits for the day.
• Two more experts: Ross Walker and Diego Garcia are both Sports Hub experts and each went 3-0 yesterday. Ross had a slight edge over Diego with $325 in profits. Ross had the Royals at +125 to upset Baltimore. Diego also backed a dog yesterday. He had the DBacks over the Giants at +117 to wind up with $317 in winnings. That puts Diego up $402 for the last three days.

• Uncle Sal again: The guy is just money. Sal Lombardi went 7-5 yesterday, but his ability to put together the right bets left him with $285 in profits. Sal is up $690 over the last three days and $1950 for the week. You might want to hit up Sal for some futures bets…or at least see what he’s betting on this weekend.

NBA, NHL Playoffs Start Today

You would be wise to consult the Sports Hub members area for picks today. There is a ton of action going on and it all starts with the NBA and NHL playoffs. Bettors should take a quick look at their futures bets for the NBA and NHL and start looking for potential hedging possibilities. 

With that said, let’s take a look at today’s schedule.

1. NBA playoffs: There are four games today, all Game 1s of first-round playoff series. Orlando plays at Cleveland beginning at 1 p.m. to kick things off. The final game tonight has the Lakers in Denver. The Nuggets are a 7-point favorite, the largest line in today’s four games.
2. NHL playoffs: Two NHL playoff series start today. The New York Islanders are at the Carolina Hurricanes with game time set for 5:00 p.m. Carolina is actually right behind Florida in the futures market to win the Stanley Cup. You may want to check those futures bets. Toronto is at Boston in tonight’s second game.

3. Football in April?: Yes, there is football in April. It’s Week 4 of the UFL and there are three games on the schedule today. Memphis plays St. Louis at 12:30 p.m. to start things up. The only remaining unbeaten in the UFL, Birmingham, will host the D.C. Defenders at 7 p.m. Also at 7 p.m., the Michigan Panthers will play the San Antonio Brahmas in a battle of 2-1 teams.
4. Huge soccer day: The FA Cup pits Manchester City against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. The Premier League has two matches underway already with Wolverhampton and Arsenal playing later today. All of the top tier leagues – La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga – all play today. So does MLS. There are 12 MLS matches on the schedule today. One of those is Inter Miami playing Nashville at home at 7:30 p.m.
5. Golf: Four golfers, including Collin Morikawa, were tied for the lead at the RBC Heritage heading into third round play today. Wesley Bryan continues to lead the Corales Puntacana Championship with a one-shot lead over Justin Lower. Third round play is underway.
6. Tennis: The semifinals of the ATP Tour in the BMX Open in Munich, the Barcelona Open, and the Tiriac Open in Bucharest are all either complete or close to being finished. The finals in all three events are tomorrow. It’s the same on the WTA Tour where the women are either done or playing the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole in France, and the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal. All three finals are tomorrow.
7. Baseball: There are 16 games on today’s schedule. The Marlins and Cubs will play a doubleheader after getting rained out on Thursday night. 

Keep an Eye on These Trends

Since the NBA and NHL playoffs begin today, let’s take a look at some trends. Keep these in mind as you place our playoff bets. (Note: you should always check the Sports Hub picks database before placing any bet.)

• First round home favorites of 4 points or less: Bad investment. Over the last 10 playoff seasons, these favorites are 36-33 SU and 27-39-1 ATS.
• Bet big road favorites: It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Of the last 52 road favorites of 4.5 or better, only 10 lost. That’s a 42-10 SU mark and against the spread these teams have gone 34-17-1. That’s a 66.7 percent cover percentage.
• Cash the Under: In the last two NBA first-round playoff seasons, the Under is 49-37. The key number is 218. In playoff games over the last five seasons with a total of 218 or less, the Under is 53-31-3. Game totals higher than 218 have seen the Over cash 55.3 percent of the time (68-55-2).
• NHL Overs: In the last 12 NHL playoff seasons, only three seasons produced profits on the Over. Two of those have come in the last three seasons.