{"id":6939,"date":"2010-09-04T14:00:39","date_gmt":"2010-09-04T19:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/?p=6939"},"modified":"2010-09-04T19:37:39","modified_gmt":"2010-09-05T00:37:39","slug":"nba-futures-betting-best-long-shot-bets-nba-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/nba-futures-betting-best-long-shot-bets-nba-picks-6939\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Futures Betting: Best Long Shot Bets & NBA Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At 18 to 1 Durant and the Thunder offer lots of value in the NBA futures market<\/figcaption><\/figure>Here is an early look at the NBA futures betting market.\u00a0 Best Odds, Best Bets (Other than Miami or LA Lakers):\u00a0 All odds taken from Bodog.<\/p>\n

11\/1\u00a0 ORLANDO MAGIC<\/p>\n

Considering the Magic made the 2009 NBA Finals and still has a strong core intact from that team, the 11\/1 odds seem to be a decent bet.\u00a0 Dwight Howard is only getting better, and Vince Carter\u2019s expiring contract could bring in a solid piece at the trade deadline (Andre Iguodala seems like a strong possibility).\u00a0 While the additions of Duhon and Quentin Richardson don\u2019t seemingly make the Magic a stronger team, resiging Redick could prove to be crucial, as he was one of the team\u2019s key reserves last year in the playoffs.\u00a0 \u00a0Ultimately, the fate of how strong the Magic are could lie in the decision to trade Carter come February.\u00a0 A lot of teams are willing to give enticing pieces in exchange for expiring contracts, and Vince\u2019s hefty contract could pull in a top star.\u00a0 Placing a bet now, as opposed to when the season gets running and the Magic are already cooking, could be a wise move.\u00a0 The 11\/1 odds aren\u2019t likely to get any stronger in terms of payout, and dropping a few bucks on the Magic could prove to be rewarding.<\/p>\n

12\/1 BOSTON CELTICS<\/p>\n

Seriously?\u00a0\u00a0 A team that took the Lakers to 7 games this year has 12\/1 Odds??\u00a0 Even if Boston falters during the regular season again; even if they struggle to dominate at home\u2026Boston has proven that when healthy they are one of the best teams in the league, anchored by their strong defense.\u00a0 Kevin Garnett may never be the player he was during his days in Minnesota, but he is still a strong threat and has a great mid range jumper that allows him to remain effective, even as his knees fail him.\u00a0 Rondo is proving himself to be one of the best point guards in the league, and if he could ever improve his jumpshot and free throw techniques, he could be near unstoppable.\u00a0 Ray Allen showed he still has a lot in the tank and when hot can be very effective.\u00a0 Signing Shaq and Jermaine O\u2019Neal should prove to be a big boon with Perkins out possibly until February (and even when he returns, how long might it take a player who once had weight issues to return to form?).\u00a0 The Celts also signed troubled young player Delonte West, who is very clutch and is a great player to bring off the bench, allowing either Rondo or Ray Allen to get rest for extended periods of time.\u00a0 While Boston is certainly far from a lock to win the championship, at 12\/1 odds, it seems prudent to place a small bet, considering the massive potential payout.<\/p>\n

40\/1\u00a0 MILWAUKEE BUCKS<\/p>\n

While a bit of a long shot to say the least, Milwaukee did take Atlanta 7 games WITHOUT star center Andrew Bogut.\u00a0 Signing Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette this summer; in addition to re-signing versatile swingman John Salmons will add great depth to the Milwaukee bench.\u00a0 Having a premier defender in Mbah a Moute is also a nice piece, as it gives Milwaukee someone to throw at the premier offensive SFs in the league (Lebron, Carmelo, etc).\u00a0 Milwaukee closed last year as one of the hottest teams and with Bogut they could have made some real noise in the playoffs.\u00a0 Plus, who knows how good they could be if Michael Redd becomes even half the player he once was.\u00a0 Milwaukee is my favorite long shot bet, and with 40\/1 odds it\u2019s worth considering dropping a few bucks on them (pun intended!).\u00a0 It \u2018s a long shot, but they are my \u201clong shot special.\u201d<\/p>\n

35\/1\u00a0 PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS<\/p>\n

Again, really?\u00a0 A team with this much young talent and depth is THIRTY FIVE to one to win the championship?\u00a0 IF, and it\u2019s a huge if, Greg Oden can remain healthy, they have a ridiculously good combo at center with Marcus Camby resigned.\u00a0 And even if one of them goes down, they still have a serviceable back up there with Joel Przybilla.\u00a0 Roy has proven time and time again he is a clutch scorer and can be relied upon at the end of games, and if LaMarcus Aldridge ever starts playing his hardest, the league could be in for a real scare.\u00a0 Losing Travis Outlaw to free agency may actually end up proving beneficial as it paves the way for promising small forward Nicolas Batum to step in and receive serious minutes.\u00a0 He\u2019s a bit of a Trevor Ariza clone, able to hit threes and get steals and blocks at key times.\u00a0 In addition to that, they also signed promising young forward Wes Matthews.\u00a0 I think Portland is MUCH, MUCH better than the 35\/1 odds they are given and make another great long shot bet.<\/p>\n

18\/1 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER<\/p>\n

They were within a bad call on a Kobe jumpshot in game 6 to pushing the Lakers, the eventual champs, to seven games!\u00a0 And yet, 18\/1 odds!\u00a0 Kevin Durant led the league in scoring and if they can address their deficiencies at center (either through a trade or the continued development of Serge Ibaka and Cole Aldrich), they will have one of the best starting five in the league.\u00a0 Russell Westbrook needs to improve his shot selection and cut down on turnovers for OKC to take the next step, but that seems possible as many players reach full stride in their third NBA season.\u00a0 They are a team of the future, but who said the future can\u2019t be NOW?\u00a0 For a team that showed so much resiliency and won 50 games in a year they weren\u2019t even expected to make the playoffs, an 18\/1 odd bet seems like a no brainer.\u00a0 Sure it would shock the league if they won a championship this early, but this is about long shot bets, and they make a good one.<\/p>\n

I have to say that Orlando and Oklahoma City offer the most value at this point and are worth a wager.\u00a0 When the regular season rolls around dont forget about grabbing our winning NBA picks<\/a>.\u00a0 On early bird special right now, we will murder the books once again in 2010-11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is an early look at the NBA futures betting market.\u00a0 Best Odds, Best Bets (Other than Miami or LA Lakers):\u00a0 All odds taken from Bodog. 11\/1\u00a0 ORLANDO MAGIC Considering the Magic made the 2009 NBA Finals and still has a strong core intact from that team, the 11\/1 odds seem to be a decent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40250,"featured_media":5488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1444,133],"tags":[120,663,2818,1985,399,659,2800],"class_list":["post-6939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-nba-handicapping","tag-boston-celtics","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba-futures-betting","tag-nba-picks","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-orlando-magic","tag-portland-trailblazers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6939"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7070,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939\/revisions\/7070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}