With less than a week before Christmas, we can finally say we are on the verge of getting to watch NBA Basketball. In this crazy Covid-19 world, we have another odd start time to a professional sports season. The 2020-21 NBA season will start on Tuesday, December 22nd. With the season closely approaching, let’s see if if we can close in on a couple future bets for this NBA season.
Kevin Durant Over 26.5 PPG (-110)
Maybe my favorite bet going into the season. I love Kevin Durant hitting the over on his points prop for his year. Coming off an Achilles injury, Durant hasn’t played in over 18 months so he might need a little time to get back into the swing of things, but I don’t expect it will take long. Durant is going to prove to everyone that he’s still the best scorer in the NBA. Another big reason I think Durant will hit this prop is that he’s not in Golden State anymore. Yes, I know he will have to share the ball with Kyrie but at least he won’t have to share a majority of shots with two players like he did in Golden State. In his four years with the Warriors, Durant wouldn’t have hit his prop once. When Durant didn’t play with Steph and Klay, he would’ve hit this prop six of the nine years.
Look for the Slim Reaper to have a great comeback season. Take the over for this Hoops Pick.
Michael Porter Jr. to Win Most Improved Player (+1400)
When I saw this line, I didn’t flinch. The value with this pick and Michael Porter Jr.’s talent was too much to pass on. MPJ’s bubble performance got him on the NBA’s second team All-Bubble. With him finally being healthy in the bubble, he got to show off his potential. Porter Jr. put up 14.2 points and 7.2 boards a game down in Orlando. I think that this year will be his true breakout season. With the departure of Jerami Grant to Detroit, Porter Jr. will see an uptick in minutes and will now be the starting Small Forward for Nuggets.
If MPJ stays healthy look for him to have an All-Star like season. Take MPJ to win the MIP for this Hoops Pick.
Mavericks to Win Championship (+2200)
So for my final Hoops Pick, I went with with the MVP front runner Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Championship. I know that this could be a stretch, but the value with the amount of talent that the Mavericks have is too much to pass on. The duo of the European superstars in Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic is definitely the most underrated tandem. If the two stay healthy, I can see them making a splash and a run to the Finals. I think they have a deep roster with scorers in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke so they won’t have a problem scoring. I do think they’ll have to make a move near the trade deadline for another piece. For this Hoops Pick, take a chance with Mavericks at a great value before the line drops against them.
These odds were all via Draft Kings and are subject to change.