Mitchell was really scary his first few years in the league (through the bubble), but has really underperformed the last couple years. Back to back 1st round exits, in which he played horribly (24.5 ppg, but just .414 from the field and .247 from 3). Third scariest star for me is one of Butler/Brunson/Lillard (obviously if Giannis is out, Lillard isn't at all worrying).
It's 100% Brunson. I don't fear the Knicks either, especially with them getting screwed by injuries, but Brunson is currently dominant. Butler and Mitchell haven't been for awhile, I'd also put Haliburton in that category. If you'd asked me before the ASB, he may have been my choice - but he's not been the same guy.
Same here. Not even close based on how we saw him elevate his team less than 12 months ago.
It was the attempted wagers that was what raised suspicion. Even the major sites would have limits of $500-1000 for an individual player prop. In the case with Porter there was an attempted $20k wager that was rejected and offered down at their max (I believe it was $1k) then several other attempts from different accounts to place the same wager. This is where the alarms rang.
You're probably right re: the outcome of the game. But prop bets could be in play; e.g., a prop bet offered for a bench player such as Queta might be that he'll score more than three points. He enters the game, plays for thirty seconds then asks out, saying his knee hurts. He never scores any points. If it's a planned sequence of events, then someone can make money off his saying he's injured. I wonder about the effect on the game and the other players. Betting always has been there but maybe some of what is currently available (some of the prop bets) will need to be curtailed. Didn't Charlie Baker recently ask for some limits on betting on NCAA games?
Was just looking at “Below I have attached an ultrasound photo of an NBA player I evaluated with a soleus strain.”
I’m not sure if you’re aware but this is precisely what Porter did in the two games in question that had betting irregularities on his props. My point is that Queta, or in reality Porter, “should” never even consider this scheme if they realize that risking their career over literally a thousand or two isn’t worth it. Porter and his people apparently thought they could hit paydirt and make over $100k several times over on his player props….and that simply is not possible with player props, todays regulations and their ability to watchdog.
Butler is the only one of those guys you can't hunt into oblivion on the other end. Mitchell, Hali and Brunson are all BBQ chicken against playoff offenses in a long series the no-D guards like that can't score enough to offset all the weaknesses on defense, especially when the refs let contact go. Celtics would eat those guys alive. The things the Celtics are vulnerable to are teams that can guard and be physical and keep it close and force them to make good decisions in tight games.
A championship team has a balance sheet that reflects playoff ticket revenue, a lot of pricing power on ads, tickets, sponsorships, and all sorts of ancillary income and community goodwill. Plus a much higher local profile.
How much of an affect does that above list have compared to the teams market and the NBA media contracts, etc that have nothing to do with a teams W/L record? The Knicks, Bulls, Rockets, Celtics, etc are always at the top of the leagues valuations regardless of whether they are winning or rebuilding….while teams like Milwaukee, New Orleans, Minnesota, Indiana, etc are always going to be near the bottom of the league regardless of whether they are winning or rebuilding. The additional ancillary revenue that a winning team brings in is a small percentage of their overall revenue.
I did know that was what Porter had done and should have just used what he'd done as the example. I'd read about it on the ESPN site this evening in an article that focused on Silver's reaction to it all.
Obviously a lot, as the GS example shows. That does not change that big market teams are also worth more too.
The other side of it is that now that there are more watchdogs on the wagering to be able to alert the appropriate leagues this should reduce these instances. At least over the long term once these kids become aware that they can’t get away with it.
The Warriors have their new arena where they have increased revenue over 50% since leaving Oracle when they were winning Championships. I was not including teams with favorable revenue changes due to arena-related revenue streams.
Isn't the valuation discussion kinda made up anyways? Its not some public market for buying and selling these teams. When they do sell its always eye popping because its just billionaires who usually just want to own a sports team more than make some shrewd business move.
Lowe's podcast a couple of weeks ago discussed this. If I remember correctly (maybe 50-50 shot!), some states have proposed/enacted bans on college player props as one limit. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
I'll still feel better when they're home watching the playoffs. Which could happen next week.
Agreed.
Need to add Orlando in there. They play Philly, and Philly has the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Sixers win their next 2 games, they are no worse than 6th.
It's harder for the Clippers because of the older guys, right?
They've signed Kawhi, but Harden and George could both be gone this summer. If the Clippers lose in round 1 (especially if it's a quick series), things could get ugly really quickly.
George, in particular, seems like he might be waiting to see how this goes and what else is possible for him. He'd be spectacular fit in Philly, who should have money. There may be other interesting spots. And who knows what he thinks about Kawhi after a couple years with him....
So true. I hate to fall into stereotype of big dumb guy, but watching them it's like adult vs child. Parker speaking coherently on a range of basketball topics and Shaq bellowing out (with childlike certainly) lame, basic opinions.
There's a real but minimal (5%? 10%?) chance the Clippers can hit their potential. When they were at their best during their hot run that offense did look unstoppable, mainly because Harden was doing a great job opening things up, distributing, and taking shots that were given to him. And as great as Kawhi is I've never seen him look more devastating. Just such a great player at his best. That said, both Harden and Leonard have since physically faded. Maybe Kawhi will come back from his mini-rest with the same brio he had before. But, then, maybe he's hobbled from whatever ails him. Given his history and that of Harden, probably smart to bet on them fading rather than being in top form. And, even in top form, there's no fixing the lack of interior D. That's been exposed repeatedly and will be even more so when the game slows down in the playoffs. Maybe it won't matter as much vs an opponent like the Suns as the Clippers have good defense on the exterior to match up with KD, Booker, Beal. But a lot of teams in the West will eat the Clippers D alive down low, including the Nuggets. The Mavs are similarly uber-talented with obvious flaws, so can see the Clippers winning the 1st round, but they'd need to be humming on all cylinders to compete with Denver.
He's definitely going to end up with a Stockton-like total that will feel unapproachable, especially if he continues to league in three pointers made into his late 30s. I suppose in the future they could be shooting way more threes per game than they do now (but I imagine some rule changes will be in effect if that does happen), but he is going to have that record for a long, long time.
