Ask the Oddsmakers: Are Sportsbooks Sleeping on the Cavaliers?

If the NBA season ended today, the Cleveland Cavaliers would hold the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, taking on the No. 4 seed Miami Heat in the postseason.

And if you think it's as farfetched as it sounds, the Cavs are actually 5-point home favorites vs. Miami when they match up tonight!

Cleveland's impressive 16-12 start to the season hasn't been a flash in the pan. They're young, talented and most impressively, defend the basketball at an extremely high level. Only the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns, the top two teams in the Western Conference have a higher defensive rating than the Cavaliers this season. They also hold the league's best record against the spread this season at 21-5-2 ATS.

In a league moving towards small ball and positionless basketball, the Cavs are zagging while the league zigs. They've gotten bigger and more athletic up front with players like Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love all playing meaningful minutes. Via Audacy, when Allen and Mobley are on the floor together, their combined defensive rating is 97.2; more than 11 points less than league average.

It seems like the only folks who aren't impressed are the oddsmakers in Vegas. So why is that the case?

Are the Cleveland Cavaliers a Good Futures Bet at Their Current Odds?

I asked WynnBET Senior Trading Manager Alan Berg for his thoughts on the Cavs' terrific play, and whether they warranted more consideration to move their odds up the board in the futures market.

“Right now, it's mainly because they are just too young and inexperienced to make a real run," Berg tells BetSided.

"But, the talent looks really good there. Evan Mobley is the real deal, Jarrett Allen has shown how great he is in the past few weeks and Darius Garland is showing why he was a Top-5 pick. There is a bright future, but the window is just not yet. As far as moving this year's version down in odds, we have to see some more wins. 13-12 isn't going to scare the bookmakers from taking that bet.”

The Cavaliers have not budged in WynnBET's futures odds, sitting at +50000, or 500/1 to win the NBA title with the likes of the Detroit Pistons (4-22), Houston Rockets (8-18), and Oklahoma City Thunder (8-18). They're also 150/1 to come out of the East, and +4000 to win the Central Division.

Maybe they're still a few years away, but with legitimate talent on the roster and a playoff spot feeling all but certain, it's difficult to rationalize not even considering the Cavs as a shot-in-the-dark value pick for the rest of the season.