Deep Diving New York Sportsbooks For Three Enticing NBA Futures Bets

Posted on: January 25, 2023, 11:45h. 

Last updated on: January 25, 2023, 11:46h.

Chris Sheridan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Live Casinos, Sports Betting.

The Boston Celtics lost again last night, this time to the Miami Heat, to remain stuck on 35 victories. At 35-14, they still have the NBA’s best record, although the Denver Nuggets (34-14) can tie them tonight with a win on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Only a half-game separates the two teams atop the Eastern and Western Conferences. That should mean that their odds of finishing the regular season with the NBA’s best record are about the same. Correct?

Well, that is not the case at WynnBet, one of the nine sportsbooks licensed to take wagers in New York State. They have the Nuggets listed at +380 to finish with the most regular-season wins, behind the Celtics (-400) and Memphis Grizzlies (+330). Yes, those same Memphis Grizzlies who are 31-16, 2 1/2 games behind Denver.

This does not make sense. And we can do one of two things:

  • Ask WynnBet: “Why is this the case?”
  • Inform Casino.org readers that someone may be asleep at the wheel.

We choose option B. And you can do with this information what you wish. Our job here at the New York Sports Gambling Hub is to make our readers aware of what is on the board in New York and why … and sometimes it does not matter why. Especially if you think Nikola Jokic and his teammates will finish with more wins than Jayson Tatum and his teammates.

Why Would a Sportsbook Have Such a Faulty Line?

There are a number of universal mysteries. Who build the Great Pyramids? Who shot JFK? What time zone covers Antarctica? Stuff like that.

There are not always definitive answers, and on this one we can only surmise that the folks who made line adjustments at WynnBet are maybe a little too focused on the NFL conference championship games or the Australian Open tennis tournament or walking their dogs. Whatever the case, this is an example of scouring the New York sports gambling Web sites early in the morning, wearing out the computer mouse, to see if there is something that may have fallen through the cracks. And discovering something.

And that one is not the only one.

Perhaps you have heard of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Once upon a time, they had Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook, and they were built to win multiple NBA championships. But owner Clay Bennett told Harden that he did not deserve a max contract because he was not a starter, which left Harden in disbelief. He was a sixth man because that was what was best for the team, and he ended up getting traded to the Houston Rockets for a bag of hammers. The Thunder eventually lost Durant and Westbrook, too, and became best known for hoarding future first- and second-round draft picks.

Well, many of those picks remain in the bank, and the Thunder are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 23-24. They will equal last season’s win total with their next W and get over their preseason win total over/under of 23 1/2. They are just 1 1/2 games behind the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers (26-24), and they still have four games remaining against the Utah Jazz (currently eighth) and three against the Golden State Warriors (currently 10th).

The Thunder play East teams only seven more times, and they have the leading Most Improved Player candidate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is tied for the league lead in buckets (398), leads the NBA in free throws made (398) and is fifth in scoring at 30.9 points per game.

What Wagers Make Sense for the Thunderstruck

Oklahoma City has won five of six and seven of nine. Four of their next five games will be played at home, and they get the worst-in-the-NBA Houston Rockets three times in their next 10 games. And so the question we ask is this: Is it realistic to expect them to finish in the top six? Probably not. But are they good enough to win one play-in game as a No. 7 or No. 8 seed? Or two as a No. 9 or a No. 10 seed?

Because that would get them in to the playoffs, and the odds on the Thunder making the playoffs are listed today at +340 at DraftKings, +370 at FanDuel, +300 at PointsBet. No other New York sportsbooks have this wager available.

Again, do with this information what you want. But as a matter of comparison, the 11th-place team in the East, Washington, is 21-26 and just waved the white flag by trading Rui Hachimura to the Lakers. They are listed at +335 at PointsBet to make the postseason. (Remember, the play-in is not the postseason, as far as the sportsbooks are concerned. The playoff field consists of the last 16 teams standing after the play-in tournament games are played).

Anything Else Out There?

Last night, LeBron James became the first player in league history to record a 40-point game against all 30 NBA teams. He still refuses to age.

LeBron now trails Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) by just 177 points for the most in league history, putting him in position to potentially break the record at the end of the Lakers’ upcoming five-game road swing.

ResortsWorld Bet has five lines posted for how the record will fall:

  • Layup: +140.
  • 3-pointer: +350.
  • Free Throw: +450.
  • Dunk: +650.
  • Other: +375.

An idea: You and your buddies each put in $20 apiece and decide amongst yourselves which of those five choices you like best. Open an account at ResortsWorld and sign up for bonus funds, and wager it all on whatever choice y’all make. Not the worst idea in the history of ideas.