2009 NBA Futures Betting Bargains
Sportsbook.com members jumped all over Miami's Dwyane Wade for MVP, but what other Future bargains remain?
Wade was recently 10:1 to win the NBA MVP award, but savvy members at Sportsbook.com wagered heavily to drop him to a current 2:1. That makes Wade tied with the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who are both still behind Cleveland's LeBron James (1:4).
D-Wade has emerged as the league's top scorer over the last few weeks and that means MVP voters will start to give him serious consideration. It is also evident that Wade is single-handily carrying the Heat into the playoffs.
Wade is still a decent bargain at the new 2:1 odds although the hundreds of bettors that got in at 10:1 could soon be laughing all the way to the bank. With that in mind, we decided to uncover two more NBA Future bargains.
Utah Jazz 10:1 to win NBA Title
Utah is one of several tightly bunched teams in the West behind the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have been on a mission to get back to the NBA Finals and win it this time, but the Jazz are capable of upsetting them.
Utah was absolutely on fire in February, starting with a 26-22 record but finishing the month at 36-23, (going 10-1). Utah then reeled off another five games in a row to begin March before coming back to Earth a bit lately.
One of the big adjustments for the team has been the return of power forward Carlos Boozer from injury. Boozer's scoring has been down but he has been a rebounding machine and the bench is much stronger with Paul Millsap coming off of it.
The Jazz took the Lakers to six games in the Conference Finals last year. This year, they might just beat them and earn Coach Jerry Sloan and Utah their first NBA championship.
Orlando Magic 6:1 to win East Conference
Cleveland (5:6) and Boston (10:11) are the two heavy favorites in this category but don't discount the chances of the Magic. Boston has been ravaged by injuries lately and there is a good chance that Orlando can gain the 2nd seed and home court advantage over Boston in a potential second round matchup.
In addition, Orlando made a great trade recently by bringing over point guard Rafer Alston from Houston. Alston has his share of critics in the league as he's a ‘shoot-first' point guard at time, but he has filled the void for the injured Jameer Nelson.
The bottom line is, Orlando has a legitimate shot of making it to the NBA Finals and these odds are undervalued at this point.
Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
