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Cavaliers trail Celtics in initial NBA win total odds for 2017-18 season

Can Boston get its new Big-3 to click right away?

By Matt Ellentuck
Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers - Game Three Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The first NBA 2017-18 regular season over/under odds are out, and the Boston Celtics are one of four teams expected to finish the regular season with a higher win total than the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Golden State Warriors, unsurprisingly, lead the pack of Westgate Sportsbook’s odds with 67.5 wins, followed by the Celtics (56.5), Houston Rockets (55.5), San Antonio Spurs (54.5), then the Cavaliers (53.5). Vegas is surely showing the impact the Kyrie Irving trade for Isaiah Thomas could make if it does end up going through.

A second-place finish overall is a high, and maybe an unfair, expectation for the Celtics, though. They will try to mesh two new superstars with Al Horford, and will rely on big minutes from a rookie in Jayson Tatum and second-year forward Jaylen Brown. Boston surprised many by topping the Cavs in the East last season, but expecting Irving, Horford, and Gordon Hayward to click from the start is a lot to ask.

The Warriors also have the highest price ever placed on a favorite to make the playoffs with 1-1,000 odds, Westgate assistant manager Jeff Sherman told ESPN, and that should surprise no one. The team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green on it is probably going to be very good again.

Other high-risers include the Minnesota Timberwolves (48.5) and Philadelphia 76ers (42.5), who won just 28 games last season. The T-Wolves added Jimmy Butler in the offseason, and the Sixers will finally (hopefully) embrace a healthy starting lineup with two fresh faces including No. 1 picks Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons.

Here is a complete list of the Westgate Sportsbook’s odds, per Sherman:

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