NBA Betting: Durant, Oden once again 1-2 on NBA boards
Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were correctly pegged as the top two picks in this year's NBA draft. To nobody's surprise, the two are the leading candidates now for next year's Rookie of the Year. Will they follow through or will a pair of former Florida teammates, Corey Brewer and Al Horford, sneak in and claim the hardware?
After Greg Oden and Kevin Durant went 1-2 in the NBA Draft earlier this year the two budding superstars were immediately pegged as the 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year co-favorites. Previous can’t-miss No. 1 picks have actually done pretty well in the ROTY voting over the last decade, with LeBron James, Elton Brand, and Tim Duncan all snaring the award.
However, for every James and Duncan there has been a Michael Olowokandi or a Kwame Brown watched as the award went elsewhere. Here’s a peek at the oddsmakers’ top ROTY picks.
Kevin Durant, Seattle (8/5)
Kevin Durant scored his first endorsement millions last week after signing a huge deal with Nike - now he just has to earn that money on the court. The answer to SuperSonics fans’ prayers started off the Summer League shaky and had trouble getting the bulk of his shots to drop. He did net 28 points in his Summer League finale, though, to silence the critics who were taking pot shots at his game.
Greg Oden, Portland (5/2)
Injury (or illness actually) once again robbed everyone of watching a fully-healthy Greg Oden dominant the courts at the Summer League. Before hitting the shelf due to a tonsillectomy Greg Oden had averaged 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. Portland’s Brandon Roy landed the ROTY award last year, so Greg Oden will be trying to make it back-to-back wins for the Trail Blazers.
Mike Conley Jr., Memphis (13/2)
Conley Jr. had an up-and-down couple of weeks in the Summer League, with a few more downs than ups. His shooting was very erratic, and he will need to improve once the real games start if he hope to be a true ROTY contender.
Corey Brewer, Minnesota (9/1)
Brewer was called a real fast learner by Minnesota coaches and teammates at the Summer League, and part of that has to be credited to the great coaching he received from Billy Donovan at Florida. The Timberwolves aren’t the Gators, though, and unless Brewer becomes the sidekick to Kevin Garnett the T-Wolves have been searching for, well, forever, he’ll have a hard time drawing ROTY votes.
Al Horford, Atlanta (10/1)
Horford missed the tail-end of the Summer League after he was sidelined by a sprained ankle. Before the injury he was showing the same scoring and rebounding prowess that caused the Hawks to draft him early in the first round.
Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee (10/1)
It will be kind of hard for Jianlian to win the ROTY if he’s playing in China. Until he signs on the dotted line in Milwaukee (or gets traded to another NBA team) there’s no reason to even mention him.
Jeff Green, Seattle (12/1)
The Sonics’ other big draft-day pickup, Green could have trouble mounting a ROTY campaign playing alongside Kevin Durant. However, if Kevin Durant struggles and Green is able to pick up the slack he would be a definite contender for the award. Green has dark horse written all over him.
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