Another weekend is almost upon us, and with it will come a bunch
of games that will help decide all of the postseason awards,
right?
Well, the major U.S. sportsbooks are not seeing it that way.
Only the Most Valuable Player race is up for grabs, really.
Jordan Clarkson is currently the heavy favorite for Sixth Man of
the Year, and the same goes for LaMelo Ball as Rookie of the Year.
Ruby Gobert is the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, and
Jerami Grant is in the pole position for Most Improved Player.
All are carrying “minus” lines, meaning you have to bet more
than $1 to win $1 – or any multiple of that number.
Clarkson is -400 for Most Improved Player, a testament to his
off-the-bench prowess for the league-leading Utah Jazz. Eric Gordon
of the Houston Rockets is 8-1 (despite starting 11 of 24 games),
Chris Boucher of the Toronto Raptors is 12-1 and Terrence Ross of
the Orlando Magic is 20-1. Everyone else has odds of 33-1 or higher
at DraftKings Sportsbook.
For Rookie of the Year, Ball is at -500, meaning you would have
to wager $500 to win $100. Behind him is Tyrese Halliburton of the
Sacramento Kings at +600 and Anthony Edwards of Minnesota at +1000
(10-1).
Gobert is -200 for Defensive Player of the Year, which is
surprising given the mainstream media’s fixation on Ben Simmons
making a public push for the award. Simmons is currently listed at
+600, third behind Indiana’s Myles Turner and Gobert.
As for Most Improved Player, what Grant is doing for the Detroit
Pistons is catching the eyes of the books, even more than Christian
Wood's first several weeks of the season when he was the favorite.
Houston's Wood is now 6-1, Jaylen Brown of the Celtics is 10-1,
Julius Randle of the Knicks is 12-1 and Zach LaVine of the Chicago
Bulls is +2500.
For Most Valuable Player, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers
is the favorite at +175, followed by Joel Embiid at +300 and Nikola
Jokic of the Nuggets at +500, which means the books see it as a
three-man race. Someone should tell that to James Harden of the
Brooklyn Nets, who has been dominant since arriving via trade yet
is 40-1.