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Posted on: February 9, 2023, 03:34h.
Last updated on: February 9, 2023, 03:37h.
OK, that was an extraordinary NBA trade deadline, especially for fans of the Nets. Yes, both of them.
All kidding aside, the deals that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas and Kevin Durant to Phoenix have gutted Brooklyn’s championship hopes. That’s after the opened the season as the favorite to come out of the East. The plummet has been stunning, with the Nets dropping from +1800 at midday Wednesday to +8000 by daybreak Thursday after the Durant deal went down at 1 a.m. EST.
Durant’s new team, the Phoenix Suns, are now the +425 second choice to win the championship at DraftKings. They are behind the Boston Celtics (+350), who lost Jaylen Brown to a facial fracture last night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Third is the Milwaukee Bucks at +700, as they get ready to play the Los Angeles Lakers in their first game since trading Russell Westbrook. Fourth is the Denver Nuggets, who go into Thursday night’s game against Orlando with a 38-17 record that is the second-best in the league. And they just added Thomas Bryant from the Lakers, giving them a very solid backup behind Nikola Jokic.
And you know what? There are at least a half-dozen teams with longer odds sitting below that top foursome, and that is going to present a value betting option to everyone in the 33 states (plus the District of Columbia) with legalized sports gambling, as everyone tries to figure out who will be the last team standing in June.
It will not be these guys:
2⃣6⃣ & 2⃣8⃣ pic.twitter.com/JwmkPNKhja
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 8, 2023
But it could be these guys, who you may recall are the defending champs. Yes, they are without Steph Curry for a while. And they just dealt James Wiseman for five second-round picks, which is not what you ultimately want when you draft someone No. 2 overall. Still, the Dubs showed us last year that they can turn it on when it counts, and they reacquired ace defender Gary Payton II from Portland for five second-round picks.
Defense ➡️ Offense@Verizon || Reliable Moments pic.twitter.com/498aoadOti
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 9, 2023
Here are the odds from the nine New York sportsbooks on the Golden State Warriors emerging as champions:
- DraftKings: +1500.
- FanDuel Sportsbook: +1500.
- BetMGM: +1400.
- Caesars Sportsbook: Off the board.
- WynnBet: +1000.
- ResortsWorldBet: +1200.
- PointsBet: +1200
- BerRivers: +1400.
- BallyBet: Off the board.
Who Fared the Best at the Trade Deadline?
It is easy to say Dallas, because they picked up Irving, and it is easy to say Phoenix, because Durant will be teaming with Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and superstar trios are a tried and true championship formula. Or the Clippers for adding shooters Eric Gordon and Bones Hyland and center Mason Plumlee.
Kevin Durant ▶️ Phoenix Suns. pic.twitter.com/QhLdYk7CF8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2023
But what about the Lakers, who added D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota, Mo Bamba from Orlando, and Jarrett Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley from Utah. Not to be all Lakers Nation here, but Beasley has been stellar in an NBA outpost that few pay attention to, knocking down 169 3-pointers, seventh-most in the NBA.
Yes, the Lakers are 13th in the West and five games under .500. But they also are just 4 1/2 games behind the fourth place Dallas Mavericks in that jumbled conference. And they also have a guy named LeBron James who sort of knows how to turn it on when most needed, as we saw Tuesday night when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record.
Here are the Lakers’ championship odds at New York’s nine sportsbooks.
- DraftKings: +5000.
- FanDuel Sportsbook: +6500.
- BetMGM: +2800.
- Caesars Sportsbook: Off the board.
- WynnBet: +2500.
- ResortsWorldBet: +3000.
- PointsBet: +3000
- BerRivers: +4500.
- BallyBet: Off the board.
Full disclosure: Upon noticing that FanDuel line on the Lakers, a certain writer used a $10 free bet credit and put it on El Lay. Under the Bic Mac strategy, which holds that you can either spend $10 in discretionary funds on a Bic Mac meal or a wager, that opportunity trumped the Golden Arches lunch option. And no, we have never seen that big of an odds differential in a championship futures market before.
Who Else Did Well in an Off-The Radar Way?
Outside of the land of 10,000 lakes, nobody talks much about the Minnesota Timberwolves, who tried something different last off-season by acquiring Rudy Gobert from Utah to pair him in a Twin Towers lineup with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns has not played since sustaining a Grade 3 calf strain Nov. 28. But he will eventually return and now has a veteran point guard leading the team after the Wolves picked up Mike Conley from Utah as part of the Westbrook trade. The Wolves also got Nickeil Alexander-Walker in that deal, and although they are not deep, they are going to be a matchup nightmare for someone in the postseason, not only because of their two centers, but also because they have Anthony Edwards.
At 30-28, they are currently eighth in the West, and their championship odds range from +10000 at WynnBet to +25000 at PointsBet, +24000 at FanDuel and +20000 at DraftKings. No team currently in the playoff picture offers those type of odds. Sleep on them at your own peril.
GREAT TEAM WIN. 👏
Ant – 31 PTS / 7 REB / 8 AST / 1 STL
Jaylen – 30 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL
Luka – 25 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST
Jaden – 14 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST / 1 BLK
Josh – 12 PTS / 11 REB / 1 STL / 2 BLK
TP – 12 PTS / 5 REB / 7 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/Vni9tQX1KK— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 9, 2023
Also, the Miami Heat are reportedly in the mix to acquire Westbrook after he is bought out by the Jazz. Westbrook still has something left in the tank if he has the right type of teammates and coach. He does not immediately come to mind as a “Heat culture” type of guy. But Pat Riley needs something better than Kyle Lowry to run the point for a franchise that went to the finals two years ago, and is currently sitting sixth in the East.
Jae Crowder was a Heat Culture guy a couple years ago, and Milwaukee got him cheap. They are a worthy cofavorites with Boston in the East, even though they are not cofavorites.
And as for the Nets, let’s just say it’s a good bet that Brooklyn will be a great cheap date destination for the remainder of this season. Do yourself a favor and bookmark a secondary ticket market site.
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