How the Harden trade impacted Celtics' 2021 NBA title odds

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The NBA's Eastern Conference just got a facelift.

The Rockets officially traded James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in a four-team blockbuster trade that also sent Pacers star Victor Oladipo to Houston and Caris LeVert to Indiana.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics both discussed a Harden trade with the Rockets before watching the superstar head to Brooklyn, where he'll join Kevin Durant and (maybe?) Kyrie Irving to form the NBA's most talented trio.

Winners and losers from massive James Harden trade

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So, are the Nets legitimate title contenders with Harden in the fold? Here the updated 2021 NBA championship odds following Thursday's trade -- odds provided by our partner, PointsBet Sportsbook.

Los Angeles Lakers+275
Brooklyn Nets+300
Los Angeles Clippers+550
Milwaukee Bucks+650
Philadelphia 76ers+1800
Boston Celtics+2200
Denver Nuggets+2200
Miami Heat+2200
Dallas Mavericks+2500
Utah Jazz+2500

Brooklyn has shot up to the NBA's second-best odds at +300 after entering the season with +1000 odds.

Meanwhile, the Celtics -- who sit atop the East at 7-3 as of Thursday -- have dropped to the sixth-best odds at +2200 after being pegged at +1600 entering opening night.

The Sixers are another riser in the East following their 8-4 start, as Joel Embiid has been playing like an MVP candidate. The C's have gotten huge contributions from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but they've been hit hard by COVID-19 and have had their last three games postponed following Tatum's reported positive test.

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Kemba Walker also hasn't returned from his knee injury and arguably is the team's biggest question mark. Boston could be a serious contender if Walker can return to his pre-injury form entering the playoffs, but if his knee doesn't hold up, the Celtics may need to add some more firepower at the NBA trade deadline to compete with the loaded Nets and the rest of the East elite.

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