Sweet cuppin’ cakes. The Boston Celtics were 4-1 at press time to win the NBA title. Taking that bet just might break every cardinal rule of sharp handicapping.

Look at the Celtics roster. Now look at the 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves. They had a “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell. They had more depth than Garnett’s current Boston club. And they didn’t even reach the NBA Finals.

Granted, they also had to run the Western Conference gauntlet, which explains to some extent why the Celtics are tied with the Dallas Mavericks as the second favorites to win the title behind San Antonio (7-2). But let’s not sell the East short. Detroit has climbed the mountain before, and Chicago is loaded for bear. They’re available at 12-1, as are last year’s Eastern champions from Cleveland. Would you take one-third of the payday to bet on Boston instead of these three teams?