NBA futures: Is this long shot on the rise to becoming a favorite?

Don't look now, but the Los Angeles Clippers have won seven in a row and are making a case to be a playoff favorite this season despite being a 16-1 long shot at DraftKings to win it all.

There's always a bit of hesitation when James Harden joins a lineup, given his playoff history -- and history in various locker rooms. He has made other NBA Finals-bound teams digress, and nobody wants to bet on a team like that. All of that being said, his current run in Southern California appears to be helping the Clippers become a more solid contender as they have worked over the last couple of seasons to compete with the big dogs in the Western Conference.

"We have tried out different lineups and now we found a formula that works for us," Los Angeles guard Paul George said on his podcast this week. "We've had conversations amongst each other, wondering what style we're going to play, what does that look like going forward. So we can just have consistency going into games, knowing how the games are going to be played."

If you want to put some skrill down on the Clippers, putting a wager down before their late-December schedule is the way to go. George and company will be playing some tough teams in the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of playing the East's best Boston Celtics before Christmas. (Boston is, of course, the +360 favorite at DK to win it all.) If LA can get through this stretch and keep winning, there's no denying they will end up being a new favorite at DK to win it all.

The Clippers start their run at being the new favorite on Monday when they visit the Pacers. Tipoff for that game is at 7 p.m. ET.