Daniel Chidel shares his 5 best bets for the 2019-2020 NBA season restart in Orlando for you to consider before placing your own bets.
5) Western Conference Champions
Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (+180 at DraftKings)
Realistically there are only two teams in the Western Conference who have a legitimate shot at making it to the NBA Finals this season, the Lakers and Clippers. I give the edge to the Clippers to win the West.
In the three matchups between the teams this season, the Clippers have notched two wins for themselves and with the Clippers boasting a full-strength Leonard and George tandem, it is hard to imagine any team besting them in a seven-game series. Given their Western Conference Championship odds being placed at +180 this is a strong bet post NBA restart.
4) Most Points Scored by any Player after restart
Pick: Under 52.5 (-115 at FOXBet Colorado)
In today’s NBA it seems quite likely that one player will a game high of 52.5 points, however the bubble regular season will make things challenging for even the best of the best. 52.5 points is a feat, and with almost 1000 games played in the 2019-20 season, this barrier has only been broken 9 times.
Since the bubble began there have been numerous ‘complaints’, about the players current living situations. With players being on edge from living in unfamiliar and uncomfortable environments, understandably many players will be off their game for most of the restart.
Coupled with an increased schedule difficulty, with only playoff contenders making the bubble, players scoring totals will likely be lower on average. Since average scoring will drop, the under for a game high of 52.5 makes this a very safe bet.
3) NBA Champions
Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (+250 at DraftKings)
Now hear me out, the Bucks currently have the best regular season record and yet their championship odds are the third best?
This seems odd since the Bucks have arguably the strongest roster amongst the true contenders and have no lack of firepower or defense. In addition, they have notched wins over the both the Clippers and Lakers, their likely opponent in the NBA Finals.
With the Bucks being the clear favorite coming out of the Eastern Conference betting on them to win it all at +250 is one of the easiest bets to make for the NBA restart.
2) NBA MVP Winner
Pick: Lebron James (+750 at DraftKings)
On the surface it seems Giannis is the clear choice for NBA MVP, yet why is there so much talk of LeBron winning his fourth MVP? The reason for this is that there is no one single statistical category where Giannis is significantly better than LeBron.
While the scoring gap between the two seems wide, you must remember the role each player has on their team. LeBron is currently the only real source of playmaking the Lakers have, while Giannis’s focus as a player is to score and defend. There is a good chance LeBron snatches the MVP award away from Giannis, and with his odds being +750, this is arguably the best bet you can make for this NBA season.
1) Restart Props – Brooklyn Nets Team Wins
Pick: Over 2.5 wins (+130 at FOXBet Colorado)
How can there be a stronger bet than LeBron winning his 4th MVP? All you have to do is look at the Nets, due to the ease and odds of this line. In their last 14 games, the Nets went 7-7 beating the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, and Raptors. While a 0.500 finish is certainly not amazing, it shows that this Nets team has the capability to win at least 3 of their remaining 8 games.
With the odds set at +130, this seems to be a can’t miss bet based on their last performances as well as their overall strength of roster.
To mark the return of the NBA, DraftKings are also offering odds of +500 for a team of your choice to win between July 30 and August 1 with their ‘Choose Your Boost’ promotion. Get involved!
