NBA Finals matchup odds: L.A. teams favored to draw Bucks

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With the NBA season already a month into its hiatus, we know the league won't resume in April. Commissioner Adam Silver has said it's too early to make decisions on a potential return. But it appears Silver and the league are holding out hope to fit in the postseason sometime in the near future, which would be a breath of fresh air for a sport that has been absent for 30 days.

It'd also inject life into the betting markets, which have been suppressed in the last few weeks. Although future preseason bets such as win totals and divisional prices would be in jeopardy in a shortened season, bettors would be able to jump back in by betting on the title winner. Or, if you're feeling bold, perhaps the exact NBA Finals matchup. It's tricky, but a ton of fun trying to find value across the board.

If the NBA gets back into action, here's who we'd have meeting in The Finals.

Odds

Only displaying odds of 100-1 or shorter

Bucks vs. Clippers (+275)

It's a short price when you stack it up to the 80-1s or 100-1s, but getting arguably the league's two best teams at close to 3-1 makes me giddy. The Bucks were 53-12 before the season was suspended; I don't think they can lose four games in a series, much less before The Finals.

The reasoning behind picking the Clippers over the Lakers is all about Pythagorean wins. The Clippers were a 44-win team playing like a 46-win club at the time of the suspension, while the Lakers were two wins worse than their actual record.

I've had the Clippers slightly better than the Lakers virtually the entire season, so it makes sense to grab the +275 price on them meeting the Bucks.

Celtics vs. Clippers (+1600)

I highlighted the Celtics as a team that would benefit from a long layoff a few weeks ago. Boston owned the NBA's fifth-best winning percentage at the time of the break and certainly had more to give. The Celtics were one of the unluckiest teams, sitting 43-20 despite playing like a 46-win team. The injury bug was also a problem - the 10.59 lost wins due to injuries were the second-most in the NBA behind only the Raptors.

Raptors vs. Clippers (+2200)

Kawhi versus the Raptors? Suspend the season all you want, so long as we get this pristine matchup.

There aren't many threats to Milwaukee in the East, but Toronto is certainly one of them. Despite losing their star forward to L.A. in free agency, the Raptors somehow had the third-best winning percentage in the league through 64 games. Mind you, that's tough to pull off when six of your main contributors missed at least 10 games each during the regular season. But get the Raptors healthy - they were unsurprisingly No. 1 in lost wins due to injury - and look out. I have them meeting the Clippers, who I've apparently hitched my wagon to.

And if the Clippers lose in the first round to the Mavericks to make me look foolish - and potentially broke - so be it. At least the NBA would be back.

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.