Back in business. Tripling up on NHL and NBA futures today, and then we’ll resume all our MLB stuff tomorrow.
NBA Finals
The Celtics losing is and isn’t devastating to our portfolio. We had a lot banked on the premise that the Celtics would walk through the East, with the Knicks’ roster not as good as their prognosis and everyone else…everyone else. Instead, we’re licking our wounds. Thankfully, we did have some insurance on both the Knicks and the Cavs. We’re adding to that here. There are lessons to be learned from the Pacers’ ability to hang with the Thunder last year. Those are easy to overstate, but the Finals are pretty unlikely to be a sweep. Leverage is good.
Pick: New York to win +1000. 2.00 units to win 20.00.
Eastern Conference
In the East, we’re scared of walking right back into the same Sixers trap, but these are still long odds for the clear favorite. Just like they were when we took them on Boston. Hopefully these work out better.
Pick: New York to win +150. 4.00 units to win 6.00.
Second Round: Vegas vs. Anaheim
Over on the ice, our days away went well. The Lightning are gone. The Wild are alive (and might be competitive—hard to know what to make of last night). We’re an anti-Avalanche portfolio, but what that really means is we want leverage against the Avs as soon as we can get it. Thanks to Game 1, we don’t have enough of that with the Wild, but this—paired with our 33-to-1 Ducks WCF future—can set us up to have some next round.
Pick: Vegas to win. 6.00 units to win 3.16.
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These numbers are for the 2025–26 effort, which is currently scheduled to end at the end of the NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final (whichever comes second). Sorry for the poor transparency. We’ll do a better job tracking the 2026–27 campaign, which is already underway with our MLB futures portfolio.
2025–26: –678.13 units (started with 1,000-unit bankroll)
2025–26: –7% average ROI (weighted by unit; sample size: 1,129 single-game markets plus seven completed futures portfolios)
Pre-2025: 0% average ROI (worse when limited to only sports)
Units taken from best odds we can find at major sportsbooks available to most Americans.
These bets are not investment advice. If you’re worried you or someone you know might have a gambling addiction, call 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential help.
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