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Sports Betting Futures Odds: Playoffs!?!? Odds Suggest it's Wide Open

by - 1/5/2016

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith

Perhaps never has there been more parity heading into the NFL playoffs. Look no further than the lines on this weekend's four opening games as evidence. Three of the four visiting teams are favored, and the only road underdog (Green Bay-at Washington) is getting a mere 1.5 points. Fasten your seatbelts, because the next month of gridiron could get crazy.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

NFC Championship

Carolina Panthers (+185) - The Panthers secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs following Week 17's developments (they took care of Tampa Bay, while Arizona got clobbered by Seattle). Carolina went 8-0 at Bank of America Stadium during the regular season, and it has the league MVP favorite under center in Cam Newton.

Arizona Cardinals (+200) - Losing 36-6 at home to a fellow playoff participant is not an ideal way to wrap up postseason preparation. But the game was meaningless with Carolina having already prevailed over the Bucs, locking Arizona into the No. 2 seed. Furthermore, Carson Palmer and a whole host of other starters did not play in the second half.

Seattle Seahawks (+275) - Seattle is the two-time defending NFC champion and should be the two-time defending Super Bowl champion. So it's safe to say head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson know how to get things done in the regular season. The Seahawks started a shocking 2-4, but they have heated up in a major way.

Green Bay Packers (+1200) - Interestingly, the Packers are expected to lose their first game of the playoffs (according to the odds) but are the fourth favorite to punch their ticket to San Francisco. Injury-plagued Green Bay is coming off a winner-take-all NFC North division showdown in which it lost to visiting Minnesota 20-13 on Sunday night.

AFC Championship

New England Patriots (+145) - The defending Super Bowl champions limped down the stretch-literally and figuratively. All four of their losses came in the last six weeks, and they threw away home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by losing at Miami this past Sunday.

Denver Broncos (+250) - Denver is not the conference favorite, and for good reason, but it at least gave itself a chance based on what transpired in Week 17. Peyton Manning and company stole the top seed from New England thanks to the Pats' loss and their own win over San Diego. The road goes through the Mile High City.

Kansas City Chiefs (+700) - In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NFL regular-season history, the Chiefs started 1-5 and finished 11-5. That's right; they won 10 games in a row-beating the likes of Pittsburgh and Denver (the latter on the road) in the process. K.C. is favored at Houston on Saturday.

Cincinnati Bengals (+900) - The Bengals contended for the AFC's top seed for much of the 2015 campaign, but they lost two of their last four contests and now don't even have a bye. They also don't have their quarterback. A.J. McCarron is expected to fill in again for Andy Dalton when Cincinnati hosts Pittsburgh.

Kobe Bryant

Lakers' High Scorer (-350) - Through 35 games (Kobe has played 29), he has a sizable lead of 2.6 points per game. The 37-year-old is averaging 17.2 points, and only Jordan Clarkson (14.8) and Louis Williams (14.1) are in the discussion to surpass him. It's not likely, as Kobe is scoring more as opposed to less as the season has progressed.

34,000 Career Points (+1200) - Kobe currently sits on 32,982 points for his career, good for third place on the all-time list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. For those counting, that means he needs 1,018 points in the Lakers' last 47 games. If he plays in every one (he won't come close to doing that), he would have to average 21.7 ppg the rest of the way.

Averaging at Least 28.5 Minutes per Game (-140) - Kobe is averaging 30.4 minutes per outing at the moment, so it would take a sharp downturn in playing time in order for this to go under 28.5. It's possible given that his body may succumb to the wear and tear of a season, but that would likely result in complete days off as opposed to reduced minutes.

Shooting at Least 37 percent (+145) - Kobe has been beyond horrendous from the floor during this 2015-16 campaign, making only 34.1 percent of his shots (including 25.9 percent from long range). By comparison, he is a career 44.9 percent shooter. The five-time NBA champion is an abysmal 10-for-38 combined in his two most recent outings.

Australian Open (women's)

Serena Williams (+200) - Serena has been plagued by a knee injury at this week's Hopman Cup, a team competition that means next to nothing compared to the season's upcoming first Grand Slam in Melbourne. Based on her past history, there is no reason to be alarmed when Serena struggles either physically or mentally at smaller events.

Victoria Azarenka (+550) - Serena won three of the four majors last season, but nobody-other than Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals-gave her trouble quite like Azarenka. The Belarusian is ranked just 22nd in the world due in part to bad draws throughout the 2015 campaign (she was unseeded more often than not due to an injury-induced low ranking).

Maria Sharapova (+650) - Sharapova pulled out of this week's tournament in Brisbane as a result of a forearm injury. The Russian also needs someone else to take out Serena for her, because she has lost 17 matches in a row to the world No. 1 and not many of those have been competitive. There is not much to like about Sharapova's chances Down Under.

Simona Halep (+700) - Whereas Azarenka accounted herself well at the slams in 2015 (she pushed Serena to three sets at the French Open and Wimbledon), Halep underwhelmed. The Romanian suffered upset losses in the Australian Open quarterfinals, the French Open second round, the Wimbledon first round, and the U.S. Open semis.




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