Is Now the Time to Bet the Cleveland Cavaliers to Win Central Division?

Lost in the loaded NBA slate on Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers continued to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the league, beating the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks 115-99.

While it's always big to beat an elite contender as an emerging young team, it's the long-term ramifications that are generating possible betting value on the surging Cavs, who now sit 1.5 games behind the Miami heat for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

This article won't be about taking the Cavs to win the East, we still have a ways to go for the young guns to get that kind of respect, but there's no reason why they can't win the Central Division, something they have the inside track on after beating Milwaukee on Wednesday.

The Cavs went up 2-1 in the season series against the defending champ, meaning they won't lose the season series at the very least, a potentially decisive tiebreak to keep in mind.

Here are the odds for the Central Division at WynnBET Sportsbook before Thursday, January 27th games:

Central Division Odds

• Milwaukee Bucks: -165
• Chicago Bulls: +275
• Cleveland Cavaliers: +350
• Indiana Pacers: +75000
• Detroit Pistons: +100000

The Bucks remain the odds on favorite, but is that misguided? They are a game behind the Cavaliers in the loss column, who have the third easiest schedule in the NBA per Tankathon. Meanwhile, the Bucks have the most difficult remaining schedule.

Betting markets may be slow to react that the Cavs are in a great position to runaway with the division, or at the very least, put themselves in the hunt at the end of the season. In just a few weeks, Cleveland may move close to the odds on favorite given their upcoming schedule. The team's next seven games are against teams that are either out of the playoffs or in the play-in game.

Here is one simulation that shows it's much more likely than the odds indicate that the Cavs are going to win the division.

Try to ignore for a second that the Bucks are the defending champions, they shouldn't be this big of a chalk given the facts I laid out before. The odds at WynnBET give the Cavs about a 22% chance of winning the division, which is simply too wide.

Even if the Cleveland regresses over the season, their schedule will keep them in the hunt that their odds are going nowhere but closer to the Bucks.