Betting the NBA: Clutch player and more
“I think the big question kind of swirls around when do we expect Curry back? And do you think that his ankle injury has a lingering impact on him beyond just missing this couple of games?”
-Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) responding to a viewer’s question about how to approach the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year market which Steph Curry (+170) has dominated until a recent surge by DeMar DeRozan (+180).
It is Tuesday and that means Bet the EDGE is answering your questions.
One of the first questions was from Dan who asked Jay (@croucherJD) and Drew (@whale_capper) about the aforementioned Clutch Player of the Year Market.
“I think obviously the Golden State Warriors where they land in the standings is a big aspect here as well. But it's very, very tough for me to wrap my head around this award still. We talked a couple weeks ago, and I was like, I just don't know. There's so little guidance on how you ultimately decide who gets you know, an award like this. It's kind of guesswork. The clutch teams that are playing the most minutes in the clutch are generating the most counties so that's the Warriors and the Bulls. Does that mean they're more clutch or do they just happen to be in the clutch more? It's very, very convoluted here…Are the Bulls really going to get an award for being clutch?”
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Croucher took a step back and defined the somewhat awkward award.
“It's the total points a player scores in the last five minutes of a game when the score is within five points. That is how clutch time is defined.”
Croucher also noted that Total gave his thoughts on the market.
“Stephen Curry is still out in front (despite his recent ankle injury) with 165 points in the clutch. DeRozan is second with 147 and then there's a massive drop off with Damian Lillard at 115…It should be Curry or DeRozan…Cheering this market on is so insane…I think the market overcorrected a little bit on DeRozan…I think assuming Curry comes back, and it seems like he will that Curry wins this award.”
The duo correctly noted that the most clutch players are actually the guys contending for MVP but neither Nikola Jokic nor Shai Gilgeous Alexander is a contender for this award. Confused yet?
Paul asked the boys for their thoughts on the hotly contested race between the Orlando Magic (-120) and the Miami Heat (+100) for the Southeast Division Crown.
The Magic lead the Heat by a game and a half, but that lead should be greater. They have lost to the undermanned New York Knicks and the resilient, but less talented Indiana Pacers in the last week.
Dinsick has more than one ticket on the Magic to claim the Southeast Division for the first time since 2019. They finished just 42-40 that season which may help explain why you are currently asking if they really won the division just five years ago.
“The Magic had a chance to put this thing away,” said Dinsick. “The Knicks’ game was a terrible spot for them… especially with no Suggs…they need Suggs back badly…of all the bets that I have going right now the one that I'm most keen on is Suggs and his ability to return and help elevate this team because everything else breaks right for them the rest of the season…for the rest of March they only have one road game and that game is against the Toronto Raptors who are doing the exact same travel from Orlando to Toronto to play that game. I think this is as good a setup as you possibly have to coast this thing in…assuming Suggs comes back and is the player he was at the time of his injury.”
The enthusiasm and exasperation in Drew’s voice as he sweats out those tickets is simply outstanding.
And the sweat continues.
