The NBA preseason has started ahead of the 2017/18 season and it has been another busy offseason. Key players have moved teams and we think there is some value in the NBA MVP Betting market.
Russell Westbrook has two new teammates in Oklahoma City – two all-stars as well!
Carmelo Anthony and Paul George join Westbrook and Steven Adams in forming the Western Conferences newest legit contender.
Chris Paul will be playing down south in Houston with James Harden while D-Wade is back playing with King James in Cleveland.
It remains business as usual in San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and the team of veterans.
The market and the key chances
The bookies have no idea how to price this market up. Very rarely do you see such varied opinions on future markets as you currently see with the Aussie bookies and their MVP markets.
There are as many as four different ‘favorites’ out there and you can get up to 20% better odds on most of the top chances simply by shopping around!
Market above provided by Sportsbet.
Kawhi Leonard is a superstar there is no doubt. He will be at the mercy of Coach Pop managing his minutes though and has already been ruled out of the entire preseason with an injury. Buyers beware!
LeBron James will also have his minutes managed and at this stage of his career, it’s about rings not individual awards. His season will have lulls and with Wade, Love, Izzy Thomas and that supporting cast he can afford to take some nights off.
Kevin Durant took a while to find his groove last year but by seasons end was the number one option on the best team in basketball. In his prime, this season, expect big things.
Russell Westbrook now has two legit scorers (and spot-up shooters) on his team. It’s scary the number of triple-doubles he might throw up this season. Stat sheet stuffing looks sexy for MVP voters.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the triple-double king on the rise but will his Bucks win enough games to put him into contention? Single figures looks awfully low for him!
James Harden now has Chris Paul to help with ball handling duties so we can probably expect his assist numbers to drop but his offensive efficiency to increase.
Steph Curry will need Durant to miss a good chunk of games to be a legitimate chance such is Durant’s stranglehold on the number one slot in the Bay Area. $15 looks about the right price.
Suggested NBA MVP Betting Strategy
Backing the ex-teammates for the same result.
Assuming a 100 unit bank for perspective purposes, I’ll be having 1.5 units on both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook @ $7 (William Hill and Sportsbet)
Good luck punters!