NBA Season Preview
Best Bets
2 Pts Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Championship (7/2 General)
2.5 Pts San Antonio Spurs to win the Western Conference without Golden State (5/4 Ladbrokes)
2 Pts Toronto Raptors to win the Atlantic Division (23/20 Ladbrokes)
1.5 Pts Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Northwest Division (11/4 Will Hill)
1 Pt Joel Embiid to win rookie of the year award (7/1 Bet Victor)
1 Pt Kawhi Leonard to win the NBA MVP award (16/1 Bet Victor)
It’s now a week until the NBA tips off again and we have some tips that we think offer excellent value for the coming season!
2 Pts Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Championship (7/2 General)
We like this bet for a number of reasons. Firstly the Cavs have got an easy ride all the way to the NBA finals. All the talk in the offseason seems to indicate that the East has become somehow stronger, but looking at the conference there really isn’t anyone that can remotely rival the Cavs. That leads to an easy passage to the finals for the Cavs with fewer games. Furthermore James will come to the playoffs rested as the Cavs are likely to give him a light load all the way through to the post-season.
With regards to the finals the Cavs are likely to matchup against the Warriors, who have taken ‘super-team’ to a new level with the addition of Kevin Durant. We like the Cavs in this matchup at this price. Lebron has always had the measure of Durant and will be happy with the matchup. The Warriors will still have to live and die by the jump shot, and although Durant is an added weapon he really doesn’t add anything new to a ‘jump shot’ team.
Lebron is going to give everything in these finals and now he has no pressure to win. We are talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time here. If he can dominate in these playoffs we are going to have to start comparing him to Jordan and we will need to really consider who is the greater of the two.
2.5 Pts San Antonio Spurs to win the Western Conference without Golden State (5/4 Ladbrokes)
The Spurs are a model of consistency and that equates to a high regular season win total. They have two of the very best players in the NBA in Leonard and Aldridge, and if Leonard continues his trajectory towards greatness he is going to absolutely destroy teams on both ends of the court this year.
San Antonio were able to rack up a huge 67 win total last year and this will be key for them this year if they are to avoid the Warriors until the conference finals. Under Popovich expect another high win total season and don’t expect the inconsistent Clippers to really push them close. Once we hit the playoffs the Spurs will likely have to deal with Clippers in the conference semi-finals, and we expect that their talent and home court advantage will seal the deal for this disciplined unit.
2 Pts Toronto Raptors to win the Atlantic Division (23/20 Ladbrokes)
The Atlantic Division looks like a two horse race between the Raptors and the Celtics. The Celtics have added Al Horford which definitely is a great addition for them, but like any addition he will take time to become comfortable in a new system. The Raptors were comfortably the second best team in the East last year and have done little to change their roster. Their home court is an absolute fortress and this year they should dominate at home again.
Lowry and DeRozan continue to improve and they should be able to lead the Raptors to the number two slot in the East behind the Cavs. The Celtics are definitely a team to be respected, but while they find their identity in 2016 they will definitely lose some games that many think they shouldn’t. Making a play on the Raptors to win this division at odds over evens seems a steal.
1.5 Pts Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Northwest Division (11/4 Will Hill)
The Thunder are third favourites to win the Northwest division behind the Jazz and the Trailblazers. They’ve lost Kevin Durant who is one of the best players in the NBA and have picked up Victor Oladipo who is a vastly talented young player. They still have Russell Westbrook who like Durant is one of the best players in the NBA. They also have talented players such as Steven Adams and Enes Kanter who seem to improving year on year.
The next best team in this division last year were 11 wins behind them. This is a huge gap and we simply think that the Thunder are still the best team in this division without Durant. Westbrook loves finding the big men and Oladipo is a willing shooter who is happy to take a ‘bad shot’ at the end of the clock. They are long and athletic and will rack up the wins this year and odds of 11/4 on them to win the division looks massive to us!
1 Pt Joel Embiid to win rookie of the year award (7/1 Bet Victor)
Embiid was the third overall pick in the 2014 draft but due to injury he will start this year as a rookie as he is yet to feature in the NBA. We make this pick factoring in chance of re-injury as he has looked absolutely fantastic in the pre-season. He is older than most of his competition this year and looks hungry and ready for the NBA. Given his pre-season display he looks ready to fulfil his huge potential and win the top rookie award.
1 Pt Kawhi Leonard to win the NBA MVP award (16/1 Bet Victor)
16/1 is too big! Leonard has it all, and he is improving every year in the NBA. Defensively he has proven that he is the best in the league, and offensively he is now one of the biggest perimeter threats in the NBA and can attack the rim with power. He was part of the All NBA First Team last year and plays for one of the best teams in the league. Popovich speaks openly about designing his whole system around Leonard, and expect him to see even more of the ball this year. We see him being in the running for this award come the end of the season and 16/1 was too big of a price to miss out on!