Boston Celtics: C’s title odds better than Miami’s post-deadline

Oddsmakers believe Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge did a good job at the trade deadline, even if many fans don’t.

Following an eventful final day of deals in the NBA, the Cs came away with two big men on expiring deals in Mo Wagner and Luke Kornet as part of the Daniel Theis trade and bolstered their offense in a big way by acquiring a 20-point-per-game scorer in Orlando Magic Frenchman Evan Fournier.

While seeing the Miami Heat get Victor Oladipo for pennies on the dollar is a tough pill to swallow, considering it took more in draft capital to acquire Fournier, any improvement is still an improvement.

The on-court product will be more aesthetically-pleasing and the Cs now figure to have more of a puncher’s chance matching the firepower of the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers in the latter rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Overall, the needle has been moved. Here’s how far oddsmakers saw it swing following the annual association shuffle (via Oddschecker.com):

"The Boston Celtics entered today with +5500 odds to win the NBA Championship, or an implied 1.8% chance. With Fournier in the fold, those odds have been slashed. They’re now given +4000 odds, or an implied 2.4% chance to win the NBA Championship.That pushes the Celtics odds above the Miami Heat, and makes them the fourth favorite in the Eastern Conference.Quote from OddsChecker spokesman Kyle Newman, “Evan Fournier has had issues staying healthy, but when he’s on the court he’s having a career year. He has career highs in points and rebounds per game. He has a strong 56% effective field goal percentage. He certainly gives the Celtics a boost. With Fournier, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylon Brown the Celtics core is strong enough to compete.”"

The Cs have the ninth-best odds to win the NBA Championship at this time. In fact, they sit ahead of the Heat despite Miami acquiring not only Oladipo but also Nemanja Bjelica from the Sacramento Kings.

It’s possible that both teams end up playing in the first round of the postseason, but that’s only if Boston gets its act together.

Tonight’s tilt in Milwaukee will be the first time the Cs get the chance to do so.