WEBVTT - NBA MVP Best Bets | 2026 0:00:01.590 --> 0:00:05.170 What these young bloods have to understand, that this game 0:00:05.970 --> 0:00:09.869 has always been and will always be about buckets. 0:00:10.750 --> 0:00:14.930 Just attack the basket. Stop it! Stop it! Do not 0:00:15.090 --> 0:00:22.860 do it like that! With no regard for human life! Bang! Bang! 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:29.100 I cannot believe you've done it again! Are you kidding me? 0:00:30.620 --> 0:00:34.209 Welcome to Buckets. My name is Matt Moore. We are 0:00:34.470 --> 0:00:39.910 back and we are talking MVP. This is Buckets brought 0:00:39.930 --> 0:00:44.880 to you by DraftKings Sportsbook. The crown is in fact yours. 0:00:45.300 --> 0:00:46.960 Glad to have you guys with us. I'm Matt Moore, 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:51.560 your host. Joining me today, Brandon Kravitz, host of The Favorites. 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.550 You know him from Buckets. You know him from The Favorites. 0:00:55.150 --> 0:00:58.330 BK is not a well man. He is not a, 0:00:59.540 --> 0:01:01.940 he is, well, sorry. We never say that he's a 0:01:01.980 --> 0:01:04.600 well man, but he is less so than usual. He 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.459 is very under the weather as we record this on 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:09.590 Tuesday night for thanks for hanging in there and doing 0:01:09.610 --> 0:01:10.470 the show with BBK. 0:01:10.850 --> 0:01:11.390 Of course. 0:01:11.650 --> 0:01:13.750 I'm just glad that I'm getting it out of the 0:01:13.810 --> 0:01:18.010 way before the NBA season starts. Something like this usually 0:01:18.069 --> 0:01:22.340 happens to me about two weeks into specifically the magic season. 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:24.450 Cause I do the pre and post game. on the 0:01:24.490 --> 0:01:25.610 magic radio network. 0:01:25.990 --> 0:01:30.530 And, and every year without fail, I sound like this 0:01:31.090 --> 0:01:33.430 about three games into the season. So I kind of 0:01:33.450 --> 0:01:35.110 liked the fact that I'm getting it out of the way. 0:01:35.510 --> 0:01:39.470 So we'll just MVP our way through this sort of jazzy, 0:01:40.130 --> 0:01:43.870 sultry voice, sultry, sultry voice. 0:01:44.590 --> 0:01:48.020 Appreciate you topping it out here tonight on tonight's show. 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:49.600 We're going to talk about MVP. That's going to be 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.140 the topic du jour of the night is we're going 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.350 to get into MVP and and break that down on 0:01:55.370 --> 0:02:00.770 the show. If you're curious about Brandon Anderson, basically because 0:02:00.790 --> 0:02:05.090 Brandon always kills on MVP Brandon, because he does football, 0:02:05.500 --> 0:02:07.780 it just takes up so much of his time. He'll 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.820 be back with us for like playoffs next year as always. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:13.220 I'm sure like Brandon will be like, no, I haven't done, 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.600 I haven't done any prep. I couldn't possibly, I will 0:02:15.620 --> 0:02:16.840 guarantee you that by the time that we get the 0:02:16.900 --> 0:02:20.730 opening night, Brandon will have Brandon Anderson will have bets 0:02:20.770 --> 0:02:23.260 in the, in the, in the app. So just sign 0:02:23.300 --> 0:02:25.200 up for action pro and that's a great way to 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:27.060 get them. Don't forget to check out action pro because 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:28.840 right now you can get up to $ 20 off an 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:32.020 annual subscription. Just go to action network.com slash pro and 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:36.460 use promo code pod 20 to get started right now. 0:02:36.900 --> 0:02:38.620 Also want to let you know that bet sync is 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.560 back in the app and you can automatically track your 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:45.290 activity across 15 plus sports books and prediction markets all 0:02:45.330 --> 0:02:47.649 in one place. Connect your accounts once and your bets 0:02:47.690 --> 0:02:50.150 and trades will automatically appear as soon as you place them. 0:02:50.510 --> 0:02:53.269 No manual tracking required. Just open the Action app, head 0:02:53.290 --> 0:02:56.760 to My Accounts, connect your sportsbook or prediction market, and 0:02:56.780 --> 0:03:01.060 you're ready to go. All right, let's get into the 0:03:01.100 --> 0:03:02.760 top of the board here as we're going to talk 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:07.770 about MVP and the market. Some just basic parameters that 0:03:07.810 --> 0:03:12.110 I want to go over, and these things aren't I 0:03:12.150 --> 0:03:14.190 think we're seeing a little bit of variation in recent 0:03:14.210 --> 0:03:16.410 years in terms of how the awards have been handled 0:03:17.030 --> 0:03:19.489 and then breaking some of the, the, the markers, but 0:03:19.590 --> 0:03:22.530 MVP is largely held up. And here's the reality. Don't 0:03:22.570 --> 0:03:27.120 pick them before they're 22. Don't pick them after they're 29. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.040 That's it. Like that's the biggest one. We have two 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:34.280 MVP winners past the age of 28 in the last 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:41.770 30 years, 30 years. We're talking two winners, right? Steve Nash, 0:03:42.230 --> 0:03:45.650 Kobe Bryant, over the age of 28. They just don't win. 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.020 Nikola Jokic last year, 29, was 30. 0:03:49.020 --> 0:03:49.180 Nope. 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:51.940 Giannis, nope. We'll talk about those guys because they have 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:53.540 to be included in this conversation because they're amongst the 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:57.340 top five players in the world. They are always the 0:03:57.530 --> 0:04:00.890 highest or second highest usage player on their team. They 0:04:00.970 --> 0:04:04.530 always lead in either points, rebounds, or assists on their team. 0:04:05.630 --> 0:04:08.760 every winner has recorded at least 1.1 stocks per game, 0:04:08.780 --> 0:04:13.720 which is a surprising fact that I found today. They're 0:04:13.740 --> 0:04:16.280 not role players. You know who they are. They're superstar players. 0:04:16.300 --> 0:04:18.740 And that's like who they're always going to be. And 0:04:18.940 --> 0:04:21.840 typically they are top three seats for the vast majority, 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.680 with the exception of Westbrook and Jokic. They're almost always 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:26.440 a top three seat. We had those guys and everybody 0:04:26.460 --> 0:04:28.530 was like, Oh, this is a whole new era. And 0:04:28.550 --> 0:04:29.750 then went back to like, no, if you want a 0:04:29.770 --> 0:04:31.410 bunch of games and you're really good, you're probably going 0:04:31.430 --> 0:04:34.220 to win MVP. Um, so keep that in mind as 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.480 we kind of go through this cycle, we'll talk about the, the, 0:04:36.620 --> 0:04:39.280 the parameters of all these kinds of things. Rookies don't win. Uh, 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:44.020 Derek Rose was youngest at 22 in the last 30 years. Um, 0:04:44.790 --> 0:04:48.470 and typically speaking, like, you know, who these kinds of 0:04:48.490 --> 0:04:50.770 factors are. We now have the 65 game rule. So 0:04:50.830 --> 0:04:52.710 we know like what kind, we know that they have 0:04:52.730 --> 0:04:56.310 to reach certain minutes. I will say that the women, 0:04:56.330 --> 0:04:59.510 you almost have last year, I think. pretty conclusively proves, 0:04:59.570 --> 0:05:01.830 even though he finished third, I think it pretty conclusively 0:05:01.870 --> 0:05:04.770 proves you can play 65 and win. You don't, it's 0:05:04.810 --> 0:05:07.310 not just like, that's the minimum bar. It's like, as 0:05:07.380 --> 0:05:09.570 long as you hit 65, they're not going to hold 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.620 the games against you. So even if somebody scores or 0:05:12.860 --> 0:05:16.520 log 70 games, if you're better at 65, then somebody 0:05:16.580 --> 0:05:18.640 is at 80. You are still likely, I think to 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:22.240 win this award. All winners have previously established themselves as 0:05:22.260 --> 0:05:26.740 NBA all-stars prior to their winning seasons. They've always been 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:31.280 former All-Stars. And most of them shoot a lot of 0:05:31.300 --> 0:05:32.700 free throws because they have the ball a lot in 0:05:33.180 --> 0:05:35.780 their hands. These are just kind of like the basics 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:38.430 for you to keep in mind. Let's try and put 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.610 them in context here, BK, as we start to go 0:05:40.650 --> 0:05:44.990 through the list provided by DraftKings Sportsbook. The crown is, 0:05:45.029 --> 0:05:48.870 in fact, yours. MVP, the leader in the clubhouse, is 0:05:48.910 --> 0:05:52.310 Victor Weminyama, plus 210. And he fits all of these 0:05:52.350 --> 0:05:58.440 kind of categories straight up. He fits, you know, all-star 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:03.500 big name team wins a lot, keeps getting better, made 0:06:03.540 --> 0:06:05.280 a big push last season. I think there was an 0:06:05.380 --> 0:06:08.120 argument for him to be number one last season. And 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.240 in fact, it sounds like you think that this is 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:12.880 where the smart money should go. 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:14.700 Yeah. 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:18.200 I mean, it's tough to lock up the dough for 0:06:18.230 --> 0:06:21.750 a plus two 10, but I've, I mean, I'm locking 0:06:21.790 --> 0:06:22.950 up money on wind totals. 0:06:23.010 --> 0:06:24.190 So really what's the difference? 0:06:24.740 --> 0:06:27.860 I mean, if he plays 65, I just don't see 0:06:27.900 --> 0:06:31.440 a world where the Spurs aren't elite. And then the 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:35.580 case for who makes the biggest impact in winning isn't 0:06:35.820 --> 0:06:37.430 then Victor Wimbinyama. 0:06:37.970 --> 0:06:40.969 And it's not like this is low-hanging fruit. It's just accurate. 0:06:41.529 --> 0:06:45.150 His efficiency went up as he shot less. 0:06:45.010 --> 0:06:47.390 Threes last season. 0:06:48.010 --> 0:06:50.990 He was the unanimous defensive player of the year, led 0:06:51.010 --> 0:06:54.539 the league in blocks, defensive win shares. He was plus 0:06:54.540 --> 0:06:58.440 12.9 in the playoffs. So he actually got better as 0:06:58.500 --> 0:07:02.020 the season went along and he's just simply getting better anyway. 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.760 So a Victor when Benyama last year, that was good enough. 0:07:05.940 --> 0:07:09.790 If SGA wasn't the most efficient player we've ever seen 0:07:09.820 --> 0:07:14.910 in NBA history and breaking Wilts 20 point consecutive game streak, 0:07:15.450 --> 0:07:18.010 you know, he, he might've been the MVP last year. 0:07:18.470 --> 0:07:22.870 It just feels like he's preordained and look, SGA could 0:07:22.910 --> 0:07:25.490 do all the same things that he did a year ago. 0:07:25.510 --> 0:07:27.830 And I don't know if he's going to be your 0:07:27.870 --> 0:07:29.570 nomination of the guys that are at the top of 0:07:29.590 --> 0:07:32.210 the board, but when you say it's hard to win 0:07:32.250 --> 0:07:36.190 past 29, it's hard to win before you're 22. 0:07:36.190 --> 0:07:36.910 It's hard to win. 0:07:36.950 --> 0:07:39.550 If you've already won twice in a row, the last 0:07:39.610 --> 0:07:42.690 person to do it is Larry bird in the mid eighties. 0:07:43.310 --> 0:07:48.120 It's Michael Jordan. LeBron James, most of us hoop heads 0:07:48.190 --> 0:07:52.190 consider those two the greatest in our lifetime. They never 0:07:52.550 --> 0:07:56.550 three-peated the MVP. I'm just not willing to bet that 0:07:56.730 --> 0:07:59.330 SGA is the one that breaks that mold. So if 0:07:59.370 --> 0:08:04.110 we're going with the obvious, there's a four, seven, six 0:08:04.150 --> 0:08:07.290 guy in San Antonio that's at least worth a bet. 0:08:08.330 --> 0:08:10.910 Yeah, I have a hard time blaming you for this. 0:08:10.970 --> 0:08:13.110 I think the only real concern, I think, is not 0:08:13.150 --> 0:08:16.350 the only real concern. He can get outplayed, but If 0:08:16.370 --> 0:08:18.050 the Spurs take a step back or if he misses 0:08:18.090 --> 0:08:20.770 the games mark, those are obviously concerns. I don't want 0:08:20.790 --> 0:08:24.030 to do the games mark. It's more of a risk 0:08:24.070 --> 0:08:26.450 with Wemba and Yama than Cade, even though Cade played 0:08:26.470 --> 0:08:31.650 fewer because of his collapsed lung last year. That's a 0:08:31.750 --> 0:08:34.750 freak thing. Cade would have breezed over the number, the 0:08:34.750 --> 0:08:38.860 65 mark. Wemba is more of a concern for games 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.910 played than a lot of the other guys, but everyone 0:08:42.929 --> 0:08:44.570 is kind of at risk now with this modern NBA. 0:08:44.610 --> 0:08:46.530 It's what makes betting the awards in the preseason so 0:08:46.590 --> 0:08:48.350 hard is because everybody's missing so much time. And then 0:08:48.370 --> 0:08:50.970 we do have this limit now on 65 games, but 0:08:52.090 --> 0:08:54.460 you know, I want to kind of fade the spurs 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.160 and Jim and I are in kind of alignment on 0:08:56.179 --> 0:08:57.900 this of like, I think that they take a step back. 0:08:57.940 --> 0:09:00.120 I think the finals hangover is a real thing. I 0:09:00.780 --> 0:09:02.820 think that they played deep into the season. I think 0:09:03.260 --> 0:09:06.960 that I'm not entirely sure that they're, they were quite 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:11.490 as good as the numbers showed last year, but then like, 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:14.920 If you're going to base it on that kind of analysis, 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.320 then my metric analysis should pop out that they were 0:09:17.340 --> 0:09:20.090 going to win fewer games, and I have them at 60. 0:09:20.090 --> 0:09:23.810 So if they're going to win 60 games, Victor's going 0:09:23.830 --> 0:09:26.250 to win MVP, because even if Shea wins 65, I'm 0:09:26.270 --> 0:09:31.390 with you. I'm sorry, but if, like you said, if Jordan, LeBron, 0:09:31.690 --> 0:09:35.130 and Curry, not to mention Nikola Jokic, if those guys 0:09:35.170 --> 0:09:38.199 can't win three in a row, I'm sorry, Shea Gillis-Alexander, 0:09:38.550 --> 0:09:41.610 it's too much of like, I will say the, the, 0:09:41.630 --> 0:09:44.010 the bar in 2023 was kind of set like Nicola 0:09:44.030 --> 0:09:45.920 Yogich had one of the greatest offensive seasons, maybe an 0:09:45.980 --> 0:09:48.840 NBA history. And they were just like, Nope, can't give 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:49.199 it to them. 0:09:49.340 --> 0:09:49.820 Yeah. 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.900 I mean, and that's the thing, like you're every time 0:09:52.940 --> 0:09:57.589 you win, the bar gets raised. SGA was incredible two 0:09:57.610 --> 0:10:00.290 years ago. So he had to do something that was 0:10:00.350 --> 0:10:04.380 even better than what he did the year prior. 67% 0:10:04.380 --> 0:10:09.600 true shooting. That is not a real number. They had 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.860 the best record in the NBA. And I think that 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:17.480 breaking the 20-point streak breaking wilt chamberlain's record that that 0:10:17.500 --> 0:10:20.920 wasn't just that season that spanned multiple seasons but i 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:24.460 think doing that last year was enough of the narrative 0:10:24.620 --> 0:10:28.720 check for him to get the award last year he's 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.939 got to do something else that is historic in its 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.020 nature and he's kind of running out of stuff so 0:10:35.059 --> 0:10:38.300 that's the tough part with shea gilgis alexander. 0:10:38.420 --> 0:10:42.010 Yeah um It's tough because I don't necessarily feel like 0:10:42.030 --> 0:10:43.810 there's going to be a drop-off in Shea. I feel 0:10:43.850 --> 0:10:45.350 like he's just going to put in the same numbers 0:10:45.370 --> 0:10:49.270 that he always does. It's going to be 30-6. Like 32-6. 0:10:49.530 --> 0:10:52.709 I did note this. I thought this was really interesting. 0:10:53.290 --> 0:11:01.570 Every winner... If we go back to 2019 and Giannis... 0:11:03.330 --> 0:11:11.569 Every winner except Jokic... has average 30 points a game. 0:11:12.910 --> 0:11:14.610 I think that's like a very important thing to note 0:11:14.650 --> 0:11:18.660 here because it does kind of set this reference point 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:22.480 of like, look, if you would better be Jokic level 0:11:22.500 --> 0:11:25.140 of impact where you are leading, like last season, he 0:11:25.179 --> 0:11:26.960 led the league is kind of crazy that he led 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:31.160 the league last season in rebounds and assists did not 0:11:31.179 --> 0:11:33.900 win MVP. Got a second. Like that's crazy. If any 0:11:33.950 --> 0:11:35.910 other season, a guy had led in rebounds and assists, 0:11:35.929 --> 0:11:39.840 he probably gets voted. Um, But the Nuggets also, you know, 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.150 the win gap was significant there. But yeah, Shea was 0:11:43.150 --> 0:11:45.170 31 and then 32.7 the year before. Embiid was 33. 0:11:45.150 --> 0:11:47.449 Giannis was 29.5. You have to go back to 18-19 Giannis. Actually, 0:11:47.470 --> 0:11:49.760 it was 19-20 where he scored 30. 18-19 Giannis was 27.7. 0:11:49.750 --> 0:11:52.069 That's the last time that we haven't had a 30 point. 0:11:52.270 --> 0:11:54.390 And then before that was Harden at 30.4 and Westbrook 0:11:54.410 --> 0:12:06.120 at 31.6. Curry at 30. you have to go back 0:12:06.260 --> 0:12:11.760 to 2015 for anybody below 24 points per game. So you, 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:13.729 you need to be able to put it in buckets. 0:12:13.780 --> 0:12:14.750 If you're not going to be one of the best 0:12:14.780 --> 0:12:17.530 passing guys in the league, you better be an absolute engine. 0:12:17.550 --> 0:12:20.089 Who's able to put in triple doubles every night and 0:12:20.130 --> 0:12:22.150 be like a super impactful guy by the metrics and 0:12:22.170 --> 0:12:24.270 win a bunch of games. If you're going to get there, 0:12:24.330 --> 0:12:26.250 this is a, I think this is an argument against Wendy. 0:12:26.890 --> 0:12:29.689 It is. Yeah. And I think part of it is the, 0:12:29.850 --> 0:12:32.580 is the clutch stuff too. Cause that's something else. that 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:34.090 SGA had last year. 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.189 It's one of the reasons if you were someone that 0:12:36.210 --> 0:12:39.350 was thinking about maybe you wanted to throw a Brunson 0:12:39.390 --> 0:12:42.829 ticket in there, I think this stuff matters a lot. 0:12:42.830 --> 0:12:47.959 175 clutch points last year, 16 go-ahead shots in the 0:12:48.020 --> 0:12:51.660 final five minutes. That stuff matters to voters. And those 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:56.770 were SGA stats last year. That's not really... what Victor 0:12:56.790 --> 0:12:59.870 Wambinyama's game is for the San Antonio Spurs. 0:12:59.929 --> 0:13:02.210 He can do it, obviously. He can do anything. 0:13:03.210 --> 0:13:06.910 But if anything holds him back, I think it'll be 0:13:06.950 --> 0:13:10.490 the late-game heroics. The final two minutes, is he the 0:13:10.530 --> 0:13:13.790 guy hitting the shot throughout the course of the season, 0:13:13.990 --> 0:13:17.030 like you see from Steph, like you see from SGA, 0:13:17.250 --> 0:13:18.309 like you see from Brunson? 0:13:21.030 --> 0:13:23.750 So, Shea, I think there is too much voter fatigue. 0:13:24.690 --> 0:13:26.429 you may miss out. Like, look, you can bet this 0:13:26.470 --> 0:13:29.369 now and Shay might just win 65 games and the 0:13:29.410 --> 0:13:31.610 spurs might fall off and nobody can touch him. And 0:13:31.630 --> 0:13:34.030 that's just it. Like this is, this is part of 0:13:34.050 --> 0:13:36.030 the gambling part of it. Um, but I don't think 0:13:36.050 --> 0:13:37.780 it's where I do not think there's good value on 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:41.819 Shea Gillis, Alexander at plus three 50, Nicola Yogich plus 500. Um, 0:13:42.820 --> 0:13:44.679 I'll put this one very simply. Look, I think Joker's 0:13:44.700 --> 0:13:46.179 going to be as good as ever. I actually think 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.460 he's motivated after the, this, he, he was not happy 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:51.089 with how he played in the playoffs. Um, And I 0:13:51.100 --> 0:13:52.820 think he's going to come in pretty fired up. And 0:13:52.860 --> 0:13:54.620 I think he's going to put together a phenomenal season. 0:13:55.100 --> 0:13:57.420 He's also going to pace himself. And this Nuggets team 0:13:57.460 --> 0:13:58.420 is worse than it has been. 0:13:58.460 --> 0:13:58.880 It just is. 0:13:58.940 --> 0:14:02.000 It's gotten worse year over year roster wise from last year. 0:14:02.100 --> 0:14:04.280 They lost him all the way junior. They lost some depth. 0:14:04.300 --> 0:14:07.280 They're relying on more inexperienced guys. There's some guys on 0:14:07.300 --> 0:14:09.300 the bench. I really like, I like alpha Diallo. I 0:14:09.340 --> 0:14:12.120 like Marvin Bagley. Spencer Jones is back, but they have 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.860 some guys. There's a very, I think the floor of 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:17.100 this team is probably lower because they have had trouble 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.180 staying healthy. with Aaron Gordon in particular, Jokic got hurt 0:14:20.230 --> 0:14:21.630 last year, but he almost never gets hurt. So I'm 0:14:21.670 --> 0:14:24.830 not necessarily worried about Joker. Jamal was fully healthy last 0:14:24.850 --> 0:14:28.670 year for almost the entirety. That that's a tough one. 0:14:28.710 --> 0:14:31.230 He's had some injury problems as well. I think the 0:14:31.310 --> 0:14:34.750 floor for this team is like 46, 47. And if 0:14:34.770 --> 0:14:37.300 they win 46 to 47 games, there's no way Joker 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.240 wins MVP, but it's just as simple as like, look, 0:14:40.020 --> 0:14:44.310 the miles matter. Joker can't go every single night at, 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.340 top ends on both ends. He still is an elite 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:50.540 offensively every single night, but his defense has gotten way worse, 0:14:50.940 --> 0:14:54.640 way worse. He was decent in 2023. He's never been good, 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:56.530 but he was like decent in 23. I would have 0:14:56.550 --> 0:14:57.910 stuck up for him and been like, no, his defense 0:14:57.930 --> 0:14:59.550 is pretty good this year. Like he did his job, 0:14:59.970 --> 0:15:02.550 but 24 was a little bit worse. 25. It fell 0:15:02.570 --> 0:15:04.410 off a cliff 26. It fell off a deeper cliff 0:15:04.910 --> 0:15:06.450 and he's just straight up bad now. And he doesn't 0:15:06.470 --> 0:15:08.670 give effort because he's coasting through the regular season and 0:15:08.700 --> 0:15:11.280 that's going to cost them wins. It just is. So 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:14.240 the age, that matters. Giannis is going to be a 0:15:14.260 --> 0:15:17.360 sexy pick because the Heat dominated in their first preseason game. 0:15:17.460 --> 0:15:22.140 I get it. Giannis' odds of making it to 65, 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:24.250 I think, are lower than anybody else on here because 0:15:24.260 --> 0:15:27.630 he's older. He is more athletically based. He does have 0:15:27.670 --> 0:15:30.790 more contact injuries. He's got all of those kind of problems. 0:15:31.090 --> 0:15:33.410 He just plays a more physical style, which wears on him. 0:15:33.810 --> 0:15:35.850 So I don't think Giannis is the bet either. Jokic 0:15:35.870 --> 0:15:36.980 and Giannis are out for me. 0:15:38.570 --> 0:15:42.010 So Jokic, I think you can give it to him 0:15:42.070 --> 0:15:45.100 any year. So he's kind of like the default guy. 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:47.180 Excuse me. He's the default guy. 0:15:47.540 --> 0:15:51.080 If nobody else is spectacular, which is highly unlikely with 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.060 the talent we have at the top of the league 0:15:53.100 --> 0:15:55.020 right now, he would just go to Jokic. 0:15:55.100 --> 0:15:56.700 So that that's how he gets it is. 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.140 If it's just, we don't know who to give it to. 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:00.960 Here you go. Jokic. You have it. 0:16:00.980 --> 0:16:03.900 Cause we know what numbers he's going to produce the 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.380 honest one. He doesn't fit the age angle. He's 31 0:16:07.380 --> 0:16:10.120 years old. I do think that I'm going to push 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:11.980 back a little bit on Giannis at 12 to one. 0:16:12.540 --> 0:16:15.340 I think the new location for him helps the image 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.650 is almost being treated like a new player. You know, 0:16:18.670 --> 0:16:21.230 we love our new shiny toys in the NBA media, 0:16:21.590 --> 0:16:23.930 and he feels like one. He's also one of the 0:16:23.970 --> 0:16:25.370 most impactful players. 0:16:25.070 --> 0:16:25.570 In the league. 0:16:26.010 --> 0:16:28.550 When you look at things like EPM, he's right up 0:16:28.590 --> 0:16:32.940 there with guys who are double the price. Jokic, SGA, Wemby. 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:38.820 I mean, Giannis has all of those things in his bag. 0:16:38.860 --> 0:16:42.480 He's won the MVP before. And if he's able to 0:16:42.660 --> 0:16:45.300 elevate the Miami Heat, he's going to get all the. 0:16:45.300 --> 0:16:45.930 Credit for it. 0:16:47.740 --> 0:16:51.020 And the numbers, the analytics love Giannis. So I could 0:16:51.180 --> 0:16:54.880 see him having a path. I just personally, I'm not 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.160 going to bet it because I'm not that high on 0:16:57.210 --> 0:16:57.930 the Heat this year. 0:16:58.630 --> 0:17:01.110 But if you are, I think this is a way 0:17:01.150 --> 0:17:01.650 to back them. 0:17:03.580 --> 0:17:05.060 Yeah, I just can't get there. I mean, you have 0:17:05.100 --> 0:17:06.820 to think, are the Miami Heat with this roster going 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:08.540 to win more games than some of the other guys 0:17:08.580 --> 0:17:10.240 that are on this list? And I think that that's 0:17:10.260 --> 0:17:12.980 a very tough sell to be like, you know, if 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.179 you're a super Heat fan, you could just be like, yeah, 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:16.960 they're going to win 60 games. Okay, cool. But I 0:17:16.980 --> 0:17:19.119 don't think they're going to win 60 games. And if 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.020 you want to be like, who's going to win 60 games? Well, 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:24.590 the Pistons did it last year. So, and the Celtics 0:17:24.609 --> 0:17:27.649 have done it multiple times with Jason Tatum, who we'll 0:17:27.670 --> 0:17:30.830 talk about in a little bit. Luka Doncic is not 0:17:30.850 --> 0:17:33.790 a bad bet plus 550. If you think the Lakers 0:17:33.830 --> 0:17:35.890 roster is good, like Jim Turvey, you should probably bet 0:17:35.910 --> 0:17:39.810 the 550 on Luka. He has been preseason favorite multiple times. 0:17:39.890 --> 0:17:41.590 He's never won the award, which I got in a 0:17:41.670 --> 0:17:46.889 lot of trouble for pointing out the other day. If 0:17:46.930 --> 0:17:50.600 you think this roster makes sense and you think they're 0:17:50.619 --> 0:17:53.480 going to win 50 plus games, Luka Doncic at plus 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.960 550 has value. I don't think they're going to win 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:58.380 50 games. I am lower on the roster. I'm not adamant. 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.139 I'm not like, no, I wouldn't take a position in 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.700 a prediction market. No. On Luka Doncic MVP. I would 0:18:06.740 --> 0:18:07.240 not bet that. 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:07.990 Right. 0:18:08.290 --> 0:18:10.869 One, it's going to make, you're just not gonna make 0:18:10.890 --> 0:18:14.270 that much, but two, I just think it's, you know, 0:18:14.410 --> 0:18:16.990 it's entirely possible. He wins. I just want to see 0:18:17.010 --> 0:18:19.380 the Lakers get the lead first. And if they get 0:18:19.460 --> 0:18:21.500 pop out and they start off 10 and two, the 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:22.680 value is going to be gone. Luke is going to 0:18:22.700 --> 0:18:23.920 shoot to the top of this list. He's going to 0:18:23.940 --> 0:18:26.399 be minus one 25 by the time that we get 0:18:26.420 --> 0:18:28.869 to Christmas. And that's fine. I will miss out on 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:30.709 this market. This market's really tough this year, I think, 0:18:30.730 --> 0:18:33.830 with the injury stuff and with guys getting older. But 0:18:34.030 --> 0:18:35.790 there's just no question of, if we look at the 0:18:36.070 --> 0:18:39.870 age times production times stats times the Lakers of it all, 0:18:40.450 --> 0:18:42.490 Luka Doncic plus 550. There's no way I could say 0:18:42.510 --> 0:18:43.690 it's a bad bet, BK. 0:18:44.450 --> 0:18:47.590 Yeah, I mean, their win total is around 45 and 0:18:47.630 --> 0:18:52.210 a half. So you're already in dangerous territory as it 0:18:52.230 --> 0:18:55.609 goes with that. You know he's going to miss time. 0:18:56.670 --> 0:18:58.830 So is he going to miss too much time to 0:18:58.869 --> 0:19:01.609 where he's not even eligible? That's always a possibility. I 0:19:02.230 --> 0:19:05.230 just think with the Lakers in general, it's hard to 0:19:05.290 --> 0:19:08.410 buy them before the season because usually the market's kind 0:19:08.450 --> 0:19:12.830 of like in on the Lakers. So Luka is absolutely 0:19:12.869 --> 0:19:16.390 somebody you should keep on the radar. Be easy to do. 0:19:16.790 --> 0:19:19.390 He's a fun watch. He's not somebody I would bet 0:19:19.410 --> 0:19:22.740 before the season starts. Wait until you get the news 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:26.550 that Luka's out for two weeks. And then you can 0:19:27.230 --> 0:19:29.950 take a position on Luka Doncic to an MVP. 0:19:30.510 --> 0:19:31.350 Yeah. 0:19:31.750 --> 0:19:33.260 Yeah, look, he looks in shape. I was told, JJ 0:19:33.940 --> 0:19:38.419 Redick told reporters that he has, quote, done sprints and stuff. 0:19:39.100 --> 0:19:40.140 So good for him. 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:40.720 Huge. 0:19:41.500 --> 0:19:46.730 Doing sprints. So that kind of wraps up your top five. 0:19:46.869 --> 0:19:49.899 Victor is a, it's fine to bet. Shay is a 0:19:49.940 --> 0:19:52.980 no Giannis and Luca to me or knows Giannis is 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:57.680 a maybe for BK. Uh, Luca is, I just don't 0:19:57.700 --> 0:20:00.040 think that you could say it's bad value at five 50. 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.100 He's just been too much of a preseason favorite over 0:20:02.140 --> 0:20:04.450 and over and over again. If you have any faith 0:20:04.510 --> 0:20:06.609 in the Lakers, you should be looking at Luca plus 0:20:06.630 --> 0:20:09.230 five 50. Like he, It is going to be so 0:20:09.470 --> 0:20:12.780 easy for Luka Doncic to win. It just is going 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.940 to be very easy for Luka Doncic to win. Clip that, Stringyard. 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:21.199 Jason Tatum is next, but I want to hold on 0:20:21.220 --> 0:20:28.720 to him for a reason. Ants plus 1,800 at DraftKings. 0:20:29.290 --> 0:20:36.449 And it's interesting. 18 probably gives us runway before the 0:20:36.510 --> 0:20:39.530 market catches up. Or like if this moves, if the 0:20:39.710 --> 0:20:43.260 Wolves start off extremely hot and they look like world 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:45.919 beaters and they're plus 900 by the time that we 0:20:45.940 --> 0:20:48.659 get to the cup, right? Middle of cup play in 0:20:48.700 --> 0:20:52.270 November after a month of play. Okay, you might be 0:20:52.290 --> 0:20:53.510 able to talk me into it. He's going to be 0:20:53.530 --> 0:20:55.909 so much of a pure scorer this season. You can 0:20:55.950 --> 0:20:58.450 already tell that the design of the Wolves is, and 0:20:59.130 --> 0:21:01.730 it's basically like, I don't want to have to play make. 0:21:01.910 --> 0:21:03.740 I don't want to have to read doubles. I don't 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.300 want to have to do this. I want to score. 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:08.720 I'm a scorer. I've become a great shooter. Get me 0:21:08.740 --> 0:21:10.219 somebody who can get me the ball. So they went 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.379 out and they got LaMelo Ball, and LaMelo can't finish, 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.850 and LaMelo's shooting, especially his shot discipline, is very terrible, 0:21:16.210 --> 0:21:18.189 and his defense isn't great. But you know what he's 0:21:18.210 --> 0:21:20.890 really great at? Passing. So he will just find Anthony 0:21:20.950 --> 0:21:23.030 Edwards over and over and over again. He'll drive downhill 0:21:23.330 --> 0:21:26.369 and force a double and kick. I have some questions 0:21:26.410 --> 0:21:29.350 about whether or not he can get there. If LaMelo 0:21:29.410 --> 0:21:32.170 is handling the ball a ton and Ant has shifted 0:21:32.210 --> 0:21:36.949 back into... defender and individual scorer. I have some questions 0:21:36.990 --> 0:21:40.170 about him being able to overcome somebody like Shay, even, 0:21:40.369 --> 0:21:43.510 even with the three time thing, being able to overcome the, the, 0:21:43.650 --> 0:21:46.050 the beast there. But like, I understand it. If you 0:21:46.090 --> 0:21:48.550 want to buy in on, on Anthony Edwards, he does 0:21:48.609 --> 0:21:52.090 fit in the timeline. He is very popular and his 0:21:52.150 --> 0:21:55.490 shooting is absolutely preposterous. He won't have as many turnovers 0:21:55.530 --> 0:21:57.270 cause he won't have to play make. That'll be the 0:21:57.330 --> 0:21:59.890 cost of his assists, but his defense might get better. 0:21:59.950 --> 0:22:01.650 He might look the most like Jordan. He ever has 0:22:01.690 --> 0:22:02.430 this year, Brandon. 0:22:04.869 --> 0:22:08.530 Yeah, but that sort of player, which sounds blasphemous to 0:22:08.590 --> 0:22:11.470 say because I'm talking about Michael Jordan, that sort of 0:22:11.510 --> 0:22:14.910 player doesn't win anymore. You have to be so well-rounded 0:22:14.970 --> 0:22:17.560 in your game, and. 0:22:16.960 --> 0:22:18.620 A lot of that is ball handling. 0:22:19.740 --> 0:22:22.399 Joel Embiid is the only guy on the list of 0:22:22.460 --> 0:22:27.300 the last 10-plus years that isn't essentially a primary ball 0:22:27.340 --> 0:22:31.310 handler that won the award. And so you have to 0:22:31.350 --> 0:22:36.540 put up such ridiculous numbers... In order to overcome that, 0:22:37.020 --> 0:22:40.240 if LaMelo Ball is going to be this ultimate facilitator 0:22:40.260 --> 0:22:42.680 in this offense, which I assume that he'll be, I 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:45.220 think the point totals will be there. You gave the 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:48.310 30-point parameter. I don't think that will be much of 0:22:48.369 --> 0:22:51.230 an issue. He averaged 28 last year. This is not 0:22:51.250 --> 0:22:53.610 going to be a great defense, so his scoring could 0:22:54.010 --> 0:22:56.430 potentially go up. All of those things are true. I 0:22:56.990 --> 0:23:00.629 just don't think there's enough in the bag of Anthony Edwards. 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:03.680 He's a great scorer, but simply being a great scorer 0:23:04.310 --> 0:23:07.350 In today's NBA, with all these guys that have like 0:23:07.350 --> 0:23:10.610 17 tools in their tool belt, I just don't think 0:23:10.630 --> 0:23:11.260 you can beat them. 0:23:11.760 --> 0:23:17.840 I don't think Anthony Edwards is a good bet. Okay. 0:23:18.180 --> 0:23:18.520 All right. 0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:22.480 So no ant for Brandon Kravitz. We're going to skip 0:23:22.540 --> 0:23:26.399 Kay Cunningham because we'll come back to him later. Jalen 0:23:26.420 --> 0:23:29.400 Brunson's 50 to 1. 0:23:30.020 --> 0:23:30.200 No. 0:23:30.900 --> 0:23:33.570 Under no circumstances should you do this. I'm going to 0:23:33.590 --> 0:23:37.230 be very adamant about this. Look, you can celebrate a 0:23:37.250 --> 0:23:41.920 player for what he did and also understand that not 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:46.240 all the voters are idiots. Some of them absolutely are, 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:50.440 but not all of them. And every, every reasonable analyst, 0:23:50.510 --> 0:23:52.130 and there's a number of them that vote for MVP 0:23:52.290 --> 0:23:55.050 for MVP is going to be like, Jalen's incredible. He's 0:23:55.190 --> 0:23:58.460 so good. Like he's so, so clutch. He is so 0:23:58.500 --> 0:24:00.900 good at navigating to his spot. He's just a big-time 0:24:00.940 --> 0:24:03.480 player that makes big-time shots and all the other cliches. 0:24:03.859 --> 0:24:06.520 They also know that Jalen Brunson's impact simply isn't as 0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:09.560 high as the other guys on this list. Jalen Brunson's 0:24:09.600 --> 0:24:13.530 very good. Jalen Brunson's awesome. Jalen Brunson's not winning MVP. 0:24:14.160 --> 0:24:16.870 There is no scenario I can find. If you think 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:19.490 the Knicks are going to go off of winning the title, 0:24:19.690 --> 0:24:22.790 come back, and win 60-plus games, which they have not 0:24:22.850 --> 0:24:25.690 done in the Jalen Brunson era, If you think they're 0:24:25.710 --> 0:24:28.430 going to win 60-plus games, be the one seed, beat 0:24:28.530 --> 0:24:30.830 out all these other teams from the Atlantic Division in 0:24:30.890 --> 0:24:32.510 a year in which we're going to see less tanking, 0:24:33.030 --> 0:24:36.380 in a more competitive Eastern Conference, go for it. You 0:24:36.400 --> 0:24:38.560 can do that, and you will make a killing by 0:24:38.580 --> 0:24:41.780 betting Nick's one seed and betting Jalen MVP, and you 0:24:41.820 --> 0:24:44.420 can bet all these kind of ways. There is no scenario. 0:24:44.480 --> 0:24:46.960 I don't care how many clutch buckets he makes. There 0:24:47.020 --> 0:24:49.810 is no scenario under reasonable circumstances unless it is a 0:24:51.450 --> 0:24:56.110 90th percentile outcome. for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson individually 0:24:56.230 --> 0:24:57.090 that he wins MVP. 0:24:58.490 --> 0:24:58.760 Yeah. 0:24:59.190 --> 0:25:01.980 Um, it kind of goes, it's good. It's hard for 0:25:02.000 --> 0:25:05.340 me to make a case for Anthony Edwards. Like it's 0:25:05.400 --> 0:25:09.420 against Anthony Edwards and to make a case for Jalen Brunson, 0:25:09.660 --> 0:25:15.420 the clutch stuff is the difference because he is among 0:25:15.460 --> 0:25:18.939 the top two or three. It's SGA Brunson and Curry 0:25:18.980 --> 0:25:22.429 of the guys that last couple seconds. Who do I 0:25:22.470 --> 0:25:24.480 want to have the ball in their hand? And that 0:25:24.520 --> 0:25:28.120 stuff matters. And he is coming off of a championship. 0:25:28.720 --> 0:25:32.570 He is the brightest star on that team. So if 0:25:32.609 --> 0:25:36.169 they are able to repeat that with regular season success 0:25:37.010 --> 0:25:41.409 and get to 60, I could see the difference is 0:25:41.470 --> 0:25:44.070 the number. And this is where I don't think this 0:25:44.130 --> 0:25:46.970 is a terrible bet. Anthony Edwards is 18 to one. 0:25:48.150 --> 0:25:51.590 Jalen Brunson's 50 to one. For a guy that is 0:25:51.850 --> 0:25:56.129 the elite scorer and is the clutch player on a 0:25:56.170 --> 0:25:59.600 team that could be the best, again, in the Eastern Conference, 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:03.600 we assume drop-off just because it's hard to sustain success. 0:26:04.320 --> 0:26:07.900 But this roster is still incredible. So I don't think 0:26:07.920 --> 0:26:10.160 it's a terrible bet. Not that I think he's going 0:26:10.180 --> 0:26:12.940 to win, but I do think that at some point, 0:26:12.980 --> 0:26:16.689 if you're in the trading business, I think that further 0:26:16.730 --> 0:26:20.580 down the road, I don't think I do think that 0:26:20.619 --> 0:26:22.980 you could sell off of a 50 to one. Whereas 0:26:23.000 --> 0:26:25.260 with Ann Edwards, I'm not sure that you're ever going 0:26:25.280 --> 0:26:28.180 to get much better than where it's at right now. 0:26:28.810 --> 0:26:29.570 Interesting. Okay. 0:26:29.590 --> 0:26:31.270 I think you probably could see LV on both, but 0:26:31.670 --> 0:26:33.830 I do appreciate their desire to go ahead and eat 0:26:33.850 --> 0:26:41.810 that good seal. Notably two things, two things on Brunson one, 0:26:41.869 --> 0:26:44.790 he's 30. So he crosses the 30 list. So he 0:26:44.830 --> 0:26:47.990 hits the age parameter. He has never had a 30 0:26:47.990 --> 0:26:51.449 point season and he actually averaged 26 last season and 0:26:51.450 --> 0:26:56.150 26 the year before. He averaged 6.8 assists last year, 0:26:56.230 --> 0:26:59.210 which is like good. He's a good passer. He's a 0:26:59.310 --> 0:27:03.730 good passing point guard. That's for his primary score. I 0:27:03.930 --> 0:27:05.750 was like, I will admit to a bias here. I 0:27:05.790 --> 0:27:08.750 just I lean towards to me. There are four guys 0:27:08.810 --> 0:27:10.830 in a category and a tier by themselves when we 0:27:10.850 --> 0:27:13.729 do the player ranks. And the tier is Anthony Edwards, 0:27:13.869 --> 0:27:18.090 Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, and Donovan Mitchell. Donovan is the oldest, 0:27:18.290 --> 0:27:22.220 and then is Jalen Brunson. They all have pluses and minuses. 0:27:22.380 --> 0:27:24.659 Ant's the best defender of those. I think Tyrese is 0:27:24.680 --> 0:27:28.000 the best playmaker of those. I think Donovan Mitchell has 0:27:28.020 --> 0:27:31.139 the most complete offensive game. Jalen Brunson is the most clutch. 0:27:31.880 --> 0:27:34.420 Jalen Brunson is the one with the title, right? So... 0:27:34.950 --> 0:27:37.090 I think there's pros and cons with all of those guys. 0:27:37.580 --> 0:27:38.730 And I think you can make an argument for him, 0:27:38.760 --> 0:27:40.480 but I will say like, I'm not, I don't, I, 0:27:40.600 --> 0:27:43.100 of those, I think Ant has the most runway to 0:27:43.119 --> 0:27:46.100 win MVP just because of the addition of LaMelo. But 0:27:46.119 --> 0:27:49.359 I'm also not like, I, I have more qualms with 0:27:49.440 --> 0:27:51.580 Ant's game because of the standard that I'm holding to, 0:27:51.600 --> 0:27:53.080 which is like, I know how good you can be. 0:27:53.500 --> 0:27:55.090 So I'm going to hold, like, this is always the 0:27:55.109 --> 0:27:57.570 thing that people get crazy about me with. I hold superstars. 0:27:57.650 --> 0:27:59.560 Once you enter that thing where it's like, Oh my God, 0:27:59.980 --> 0:28:02.179 Anthony Edwards might be the, like, I thought this when 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:04.139 he beat the nuggets, I was like, Anthony Edwards might 0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:07.239 be the best player in the NBA. Okay. Once you're 0:28:07.260 --> 0:28:10.929 in that conversation, I hold you to that bar. I'm 0:28:10.970 --> 0:28:13.090 not just like, good job getting there. I'm like, okay, 0:28:13.690 --> 0:28:16.150 so now you gotta be precise. Now you gotta be consistent. 0:28:16.790 --> 0:28:19.340 Anthony never been precise and consistent. Jalen's very consistent. I'll 0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:23.000 give him that. Jalen Brunson is very consistent. Um, I 0:28:23.020 --> 0:28:24.540 don't want any of the Sixers, by the way, kind 0:28:24.619 --> 0:28:27.000 of transitioning because Tyrese Maxey is 80 to one behind 0:28:27.040 --> 0:28:30.350 Jalen Brunson. I don't want Maxey. I don't know what 0:28:30.380 --> 0:28:32.250 role he's going to have. I don't know if Jalen 0:28:32.510 --> 0:28:34.450 Brown's going to lead the team in points and Maxey's 0:28:34.490 --> 0:28:36.690 going to lead in assists. I don't know if LeBron's 0:28:36.710 --> 0:28:38.450 going to lead the team in assists and Maxey's just 0:28:38.490 --> 0:28:40.010 going to kind of be there. I don't know if 0:28:40.070 --> 0:28:41.990 Maxey's going to lead in scoring and Joel takes a 0:28:42.010 --> 0:28:44.290 step back. I don't know how this works out. They 0:28:44.330 --> 0:28:46.170 have a lot of guys operate in the same space. 0:28:46.490 --> 0:28:48.700 They're all really good. And I don't know how it's 0:28:48.720 --> 0:28:50.480 going to work out. The most likely scenario is they 0:28:50.500 --> 0:28:52.260 just kind of split it up and everybody's numbers go 0:28:52.300 --> 0:28:55.040 down in volume, but they're all very efficient and they 0:28:55.100 --> 0:28:57.080 love playing together and they win a bunch of games. 0:28:57.340 --> 0:28:59.060 I think they'll probably struggle in the early part of 0:28:59.100 --> 0:29:00.860 the season. I talked about, we're going to talk about 0:29:00.880 --> 0:29:02.500 that a little bit more on the, the, the teams 0:29:02.560 --> 0:29:06.900 of fade episode, but in general, I just can't find 0:29:06.940 --> 0:29:09.140 any sort of angle where a Philadelphia 76 or wins 0:29:09.200 --> 0:29:10.610 MVP this season. Yeah. 0:29:10.680 --> 0:29:13.670 They are really tough to handicap overall because it's so 0:29:13.690 --> 0:29:17.370 many moving parts on that roster and, But I think 0:29:17.740 --> 0:29:20.850 the most confident take that I could levy on the 0:29:21.070 --> 0:29:24.650 76ers is that nobody on that team is going to 0:29:24.690 --> 0:29:29.210 win NBA MVP. They may win the championship. They may 0:29:29.390 --> 0:29:33.870 fall way short of expectation. All of these things are possible. 0:29:34.290 --> 0:29:36.490 They might cover spreads left and right throughout the year. 0:29:36.850 --> 0:29:37.830 They might be a. 0:29:39.410 --> 0:29:42.320 Money vacuum. I don't know. We'll figure that out in 0:29:42.360 --> 0:29:45.120 real time, but no one on this team is winning MVP. 0:29:47.220 --> 0:29:47.640 All right. 0:29:49.280 --> 0:29:52.340 Next up as we'll wrap up with like some of 0:29:52.400 --> 0:29:54.560 the other names here, just rapid fire before we get 0:29:54.580 --> 0:30:01.120 to our best bets. Tyrese Albert, and we're going to skip. 0:30:01.540 --> 0:30:04.960 Donovan Mitchell is a flat-out no for me. He missed 0:30:05.000 --> 0:30:06.920 his window. I thought there was a couple of years, 0:30:06.940 --> 0:30:08.480 and I put bets in, and I gave out on 0:30:08.530 --> 0:30:10.730 this program, and I think Donovan could have gotten there, 0:30:10.830 --> 0:30:12.610 and it just never happened for him. Either the team 0:30:12.650 --> 0:30:14.710 wasn't good enough, or he wasn't good enough, or the 0:30:14.770 --> 0:30:17.370 injuries weren't good enough. It never quite got there. Donovan's 0:30:17.390 --> 0:30:20.050 played at an All-NBA level for about eight years now. 0:30:20.390 --> 0:30:23.370 He's incredible. Donovan Mitchell is awesome every single night. He 0:30:23.450 --> 0:30:27.130 is a really great player, but his playoff, it's weird 0:30:27.150 --> 0:30:29.400 because he made the Eastern Conference Finals. But he has 0:30:29.440 --> 0:30:34.920 playoff failures combined with the age, combined with sharing usage 0:30:34.960 --> 0:30:38.500 with Harden now. There's no pathway for Donovan Mitchell. Jalen 0:30:38.520 --> 0:30:41.350 Brown falls into the same Sixers conversation that we talked about. 0:30:41.470 --> 0:30:45.110 LaMelo Ball, there's no scenario he gets it over Anthony Edwards. 0:30:45.430 --> 0:30:48.110 There's no way. He might take votes away from Anthony 0:30:48.170 --> 0:30:51.290 Edwards where they split if the Wolves won 62 games. 0:30:51.690 --> 0:30:53.280 I could see that happening, but I don't think that 0:30:53.320 --> 0:30:56.660 either one of them wins that in that scenario. Devin Booker, 0:30:56.700 --> 0:30:58.100 I'm going to have to see the shooting come back 0:30:58.120 --> 0:31:02.330 to form. Steph Curry, absolutely not under no circumstances. That 0:31:02.350 --> 0:31:05.170 team is absolute. That team, I am terrified of how 0:31:05.210 --> 0:31:07.470 bad that team may be, and he's ancient, and he's 0:31:07.490 --> 0:31:10.040 probably going to not hit the game's limit. Kawhi Leonard, 0:31:10.260 --> 0:31:12.239 come on. Come on. 0:31:12.260 --> 0:31:12.320 No. 0:31:16.450 --> 0:31:17.290 Kevin Durant, too. 0:31:17.310 --> 0:31:19.690 Look at how many of these guys are old. 0:31:19.710 --> 0:31:21.550 I want to pause on Kawhi because when I was 0:31:21.590 --> 0:31:25.290 starting to write down names that I would consider, just 0:31:25.350 --> 0:31:28.490 names that I wouldn't completely, like LaMelo Ball. 0:31:28.580 --> 0:31:30.540 I don't need to have a conversation about LaMelo Ball. 0:31:30.560 --> 0:31:31.020 He's not winning. 0:31:31.800 --> 0:31:37.420 Kawhi Leonard, is he going to be the alpha, the 0:31:37.560 --> 0:31:41.260 unquestioned alpha on that team, or is he going to 0:31:41.300 --> 0:31:44.880 take a step back and just kind of aid the 0:31:46.210 --> 0:31:49.890 In their overall effectiveness, because if he's going to step 0:31:49.950 --> 0:31:53.270 in and be the guy, I think he's worth a conversation. 0:31:53.770 --> 0:31:55.410 He's already 35. 0:31:55.410 --> 0:31:57.420 He's already said, this is Scotty's team. 0:31:58.180 --> 0:31:58.620 There you go. 0:31:59.020 --> 0:32:01.780 He's 35 years old. He's already said, this is Scotty's team. 0:32:02.720 --> 0:32:05.760 Him staying healthy for two seasons is unlikely. And Oh yeah. 0:32:05.780 --> 0:32:09.990 There's the risk of him going to jail. So. 0:32:11.750 --> 0:32:14.540 Hard to win in jail. Clip that on StreamYard. Yeah, 0:32:14.620 --> 0:32:15.280 it's hard to win MVP. 0:32:15.320 --> 0:32:17.560 It's hard to cross the 65 game mark if you're 0:32:17.600 --> 0:32:20.620 in there for insider trading fraud. I guess it would 0:32:20.640 --> 0:32:22.900 be the way that it would get parsed by the 0:32:23.020 --> 0:32:25.940 SEC or whoever. He's probably not going to jail. 0:32:26.480 --> 0:32:29.380 You breezed past one of the other names that I'm considering, too. 0:32:29.740 --> 0:32:34.810 Yeah. We'll get to your best bets. Is that one 0:32:34.830 --> 0:32:36.450 of your best bets, or is it just another name 0:32:36.470 --> 0:32:37.610 that you think isn't. 0:32:37.470 --> 0:32:39.510 Worth talking about? Tyrese Halliburton. 0:32:40.170 --> 0:32:41.630 All right, let's talk about Halliburton. 0:32:42.690 --> 0:32:46.020 So the Pacers dropped off dramatically without him, and some 0:32:46.060 --> 0:32:49.520 of that was by design. But we're talking about a 0:32:49.580 --> 0:32:53.020 narrative-based award. It would be very easy to make an 0:32:53.120 --> 0:32:56.930 MVP case if they just put it all back together, 0:32:57.550 --> 0:33:00.390 if everything clicks right away. They're one of the top 0:33:00.510 --> 0:33:03.750 three seeds in the Eastern Conference, which I don't think 0:33:03.810 --> 0:33:06.710 is a wildly crazy thing to say. 0:33:06.730 --> 0:33:10.230 It could happen. They have talent. I understand that they 0:33:10.340 --> 0:33:12.480 suffered last year, but that. 0:33:12.580 --> 0:33:16.980 Aids in the discussion. He is an impact player. He's clutch. 0:33:17.100 --> 0:33:21.160 So we get to check that box. He's multifaceted scoring 0:33:21.200 --> 0:33:23.700 and assists. So he's going to have those big moments 0:33:23.740 --> 0:33:25.900 that stick in our head. I do worry about the 0:33:25.900 --> 0:33:28.950 65 game threshold, but again, let's go back to the price. 0:33:29.370 --> 0:33:33.150 He's 150 to one. So if we're looking for long 0:33:33.210 --> 0:33:38.170 shots among this list of names, uh, I can't make 0:33:38.210 --> 0:33:41.260 it a compelling case for any of these other guys 0:33:41.860 --> 0:33:43.660 in the same way that I can make a case 0:33:44.260 --> 0:33:45.320 for Tyrese Halliburton. 0:33:47.760 --> 0:33:50.020 So my problem is that I can get past the 0:33:50.040 --> 0:33:52.200 injury stuff. I think it'd be a great narrative, right? 0:33:52.220 --> 0:33:54.500 For those voters that partake in the narrative. And there 0:33:54.540 --> 0:33:56.510 are voters that do, what was the story of the year? 0:33:57.670 --> 0:33:59.150 And I think he is one of the most impactful 0:33:59.170 --> 0:34:00.850 players in the game with his passing. I think he 0:34:00.890 --> 0:34:04.770 genuinely makes everybody better. He's, I think Halliburton is legitimately 0:34:04.810 --> 0:34:07.370 the second best offensive engine in the league behind Yoke. 0:34:07.690 --> 0:34:09.210 That's how good I think he is. I think it's 0:34:09.250 --> 0:34:13.610 like Yoke and then him and then maybe Cade as 0:34:13.650 --> 0:34:19.050 far as engines go. The problem is that Halliburton isn't 0:34:19.070 --> 0:34:20.460 going to put up the numbers that are going to 0:34:20.500 --> 0:34:22.779 get him in this conversation. And you just have to 0:34:22.820 --> 0:34:23.940 be able to put up the numbers. You have to 0:34:23.960 --> 0:34:27.100 put up 24-9 and Hallie just doesn't do it. Hallie's 0:34:27.140 --> 0:34:29.380 just too much like, oh, they're going to double me? Oh, 0:34:29.640 --> 0:34:31.239 I will just kick it to Nemhardt and he'll go 0:34:31.280 --> 0:34:33.779 work it. because a lot of times what happens is 0:34:33.820 --> 0:34:39.259 Halliburton makes a decision with the ball. That is the 0:34:39.420 --> 0:34:42.540 right basketball play that leads to a score that doesn't 0:34:42.580 --> 0:34:45.560 generate an assist or a point for him. But if 0:34:45.600 --> 0:34:47.279 you go back and you watch, you're like, Oh, all 0:34:47.300 --> 0:34:50.250 of that was created because Halliburton saw it. He's just 0:34:50.270 --> 0:34:52.450 got an incredible mind for how to control the game, 0:34:52.870 --> 0:34:55.010 but that doesn't always result in you getting the assist 0:34:55.030 --> 0:34:57.529 because a hockey assists are part of that. But it's 0:34:57.570 --> 0:35:00.069 also like, if he put, if they're shading over because 0:35:00.090 --> 0:35:02.149 they're so worried about Halliburton, cause he's been torching somebody 0:35:02.170 --> 0:35:03.770 and he's got 15 in that first half and they 0:35:03.790 --> 0:35:05.730 start to shade over to bring more help to that 0:35:05.770 --> 0:35:08.910 strong side. Halliburton is just going to space them harder. 0:35:08.930 --> 0:35:11.669 Knees met to the other side, wait for them to wait, 0:35:11.690 --> 0:35:13.259 to watch their feet, for them to move over a 0:35:13.260 --> 0:35:16.180 little bit, kick it weak. That guy will ISO his 0:35:16.219 --> 0:35:18.000 guy for two steps and then get the drive to 0:35:18.040 --> 0:35:20.319 the basket. And they'll sometimes they get the, the, the 0:35:20.360 --> 0:35:23.910 assist and sometimes it doesn't. So, as much as I 0:35:23.950 --> 0:35:26.969 think Halliburton is an MVP caliber player, I have a 0:35:27.030 --> 0:35:30.480 hard time seeing him putting together the resume that gets 0:35:30.520 --> 0:35:33.660 him into this conversation. It's like, he would have to 0:35:33.680 --> 0:35:36.760 score so many more points than he has. The Pacers 0:35:36.820 --> 0:35:39.100 would have to immediately be right back to being as 0:35:39.140 --> 0:35:40.640 good as they are. And I don't really, I just 0:35:40.680 --> 0:35:43.440 don't know what they're going to be this season. They 0:35:43.480 --> 0:35:45.340 could be, I think we've talked about them on the, 0:35:45.560 --> 0:35:48.040 on the overs pod of being like, play the alts 0:35:48.140 --> 0:35:49.970 on them. Cause if they're going to be good, they're 0:35:49.989 --> 0:35:51.290 going to be great. And maybe this is a way 0:35:51.310 --> 0:35:53.500 to bet that, But I just kind of feel like 0:35:54.060 --> 0:35:56.440 Halliburton will never have the kind of resume that will 0:35:56.520 --> 0:35:58.940 get him into the voters' minds of these are the 0:35:59.200 --> 0:36:00.600 five best players in the league. 0:36:00.940 --> 0:36:03.860 Well, then the resume has to come with team success 0:36:03.940 --> 0:36:04.840 because that's where. 0:36:06.620 --> 0:36:10.120 Because he's that engine, if they're the... I said top 0:36:10.180 --> 0:36:13.759 three seed. I mean, really, probably has to be the 0:36:13.880 --> 0:36:17.540 one seed in the Eastern Conference. But if they are, 0:36:17.560 --> 0:36:20.259 there's the resume. I just think that number is. 0:36:25.070 --> 0:36:27.210 That's a juicy digit. 0:36:28.030 --> 0:36:30.270 It's a good number. I'll give you that. I can't 0:36:30.310 --> 0:36:32.470 deny that. But it also probably means we got runway 0:36:32.510 --> 0:36:35.629 before it. Some of this is like, do you want 0:36:35.650 --> 0:36:37.450 to make sure that you have the best number at 0:36:37.570 --> 0:36:41.149 all times? And Brandon Anderson is pretty militant about this. 0:36:41.190 --> 0:36:42.830 He's just like, I only want it if I have 0:36:42.850 --> 0:36:45.650 the best. And good for him. I am oftentimes like, 0:36:45.670 --> 0:36:48.330 it's not as good as it was. It's still pretty good. 0:36:49.610 --> 0:36:51.990 And that's how I wind up looking at it. Okay. 0:36:52.110 --> 0:36:53.730 You have a long shot here that I think is 0:36:53.770 --> 0:36:55.950 worth discussing, even though it breaks the rules. Give me 0:36:55.969 --> 0:36:57.049 your long shot that here. 0:36:57.390 --> 0:36:57.750 It does. 0:36:57.830 --> 0:37:01.230 It does break the rules, but, um, we had a 0:37:01.250 --> 0:37:03.830 guy last year breaking some rules too. So I'm going 0:37:03.850 --> 0:37:06.630 to go back to the well on that Cooper flag 0:37:06.810 --> 0:37:09.589 at the same number as Tyrese Halliburton, one 50 to one. 0:37:10.190 --> 0:37:13.570 If we're looking at what young player could catapult his team, 0:37:14.090 --> 0:37:17.810 take a massive leap Allah Wemby and the Spurs last year. 0:37:18.030 --> 0:37:22.170 Remember the Spurs did not go into last year. as 0:37:22.250 --> 0:37:26.690 this presumptive juggernaut in the Western conference, they were 60 0:37:26.690 --> 0:37:30.840 to one to win the title. So what that tells 0:37:31.020 --> 0:37:34.720 us is that when these leaps happen with these all time, 0:37:34.760 --> 0:37:39.640 great talents, it happens pretty dramatically. And I think Cooper 0:37:39.700 --> 0:37:43.170 flag has the best chance in the league among the 0:37:43.250 --> 0:37:46.430 young players to be that guy. And the team should 0:37:46.450 --> 0:37:50.310 be a lot better. Kyrie Irving's back and healthy flag average, 0:37:50.310 --> 0:37:54.460 21 points. nearly seven rebounds, four and a half assists. 0:37:54.900 --> 0:37:58.529 He gets it done on defense, steals, blocks. He's efficient 0:37:59.810 --> 0:38:05.910 with his true shooting, just a hair south of 55%. 0:38:05.910 --> 0:38:10.700 The rookies in NBA history to average 18, six, and 0:38:10.800 --> 0:38:18.940 four on 55% true shooting, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, 0:38:19.460 --> 0:38:20.100 Michael Jordan. 0:38:20.640 --> 0:38:22.319 So that's a pretty good list. 0:38:22.980 --> 0:38:26.580 If he takes a big step forward and Dallas is good, 0:38:27.520 --> 0:38:31.360 he's going to be in the conversation. So you're asking 0:38:31.420 --> 0:38:34.620 for a lot, but I think if you're targeting any 0:38:34.700 --> 0:38:38.890 young player that could make a monumental leap, it's hard 0:38:38.950 --> 0:38:41.590 to do that when you're several years into the league. 0:38:42.230 --> 0:38:43.649 I think Cooper Flagg is that guy. 0:38:46.290 --> 0:38:48.589 College coach coming in, so we've got no history with 0:38:48.630 --> 0:38:50.529 Dusty May to be able to analyze what those teams 0:38:50.550 --> 0:38:52.630 are going to look like. I've got the under on 0:38:52.650 --> 0:38:55.170 the Mavericks. I don't think they're going to be good. 0:38:55.250 --> 0:38:57.359 I think they're going to be in the 20s for wins. 0:38:59.460 --> 0:39:03.680 What is the absolute apex, 95th percentile outcome that you 0:39:03.700 --> 0:39:06.340 can see for the Dallas Mavericks in wins this year? 48. 0:39:06.320 --> 0:39:16.340 Oof, God, that's a lot. 48 wins. 0:39:16.700 --> 0:39:18.330 I'm trying to think of that gets them high enough. 0:39:19.410 --> 0:39:21.810 I think they're good basketball. I'm on the other side. 0:39:21.830 --> 0:39:23.859 I bet the over 33 and a half. 0:39:24.340 --> 0:39:29.610 If the Spurs fall off because of like Wemby fatigue and. 0:39:31.080 --> 0:39:33.580 all those guys and shea can't win because of the 0:39:33.660 --> 0:39:36.799 three the three in a row and the nuggets are 0:39:36.920 --> 0:39:41.350 worse and the wolves are worse and the lakers are 0:39:41.410 --> 0:39:44.470 worse see this is the thing is like If Cooper 0:39:44.510 --> 0:39:47.310 has the season you're describing, but he, but he like 0:39:47.330 --> 0:39:50.410 say they win 48 and the Lakers win 48, who wins? 0:39:54.170 --> 0:39:56.310 I think in order for this to get home, you 0:39:56.610 --> 0:39:58.370 need some guys to not qualify. 0:39:58.410 --> 0:39:58.609 Yeah. 0:39:58.890 --> 0:40:01.310 You need a lot of guys to not qualify. 0:40:01.530 --> 0:40:04.130 You need some guys that don't qualify because the Mavericks 0:40:04.150 --> 0:40:05.810 aren't going to be the top seed. And that is 0:40:05.870 --> 0:40:08.640 where the MVP is going. But again, I'll go back 0:40:08.700 --> 0:40:12.100 to last year. Wemby almost won the award. They should 0:40:12.140 --> 0:40:14.460 not have even, they shouldn't have even been in this 0:40:14.520 --> 0:40:18.620 discussion last year at this exact same time. You and 0:40:18.660 --> 0:40:21.819 me were having this discussion about San Antonio. And I said, 0:40:21.860 --> 0:40:24.200 we got to consider them for the title. And you're like, 0:40:24.239 --> 0:40:27.220 it doesn't happen. And they were in the championship. 0:40:27.440 --> 0:40:31.879 So, but they didn't win. 201. You stubborn bastard. 0:40:32.180 --> 0:40:34.430 On 201 on Cooper. 0:40:34.450 --> 0:40:36.610 You know what the 201 on Cooper flag bet is? 0:40:39.300 --> 0:40:41.700 The 201 on the Cooper flag is that the Russian 0:40:41.739 --> 0:40:45.259 bubonic plague takes out half of the NBA, and that 0:40:45.420 --> 0:40:48.020 gets us home with all of the players getting the 0:40:48.040 --> 0:40:49.520 bubonic plague. 0:40:49.680 --> 0:40:51.700 I've got it. There you go. 0:40:51.900 --> 0:40:55.300 There you go. I'll be honest with you. I don't 0:40:55.380 --> 0:40:57.540 have a long shot. There's just not a lot of 0:40:57.580 --> 0:41:01.580 names on the board this year, honestly. This is in 0:41:01.600 --> 0:41:03.540 the market in general. There are not a lot of 0:41:03.580 --> 0:41:06.160 good long shot bets. we don't have a lot of 0:41:06.180 --> 0:41:08.420 star players that maybe there will be one that kind 0:41:08.440 --> 0:41:12.020 of asserts themselves, whatever the surprise team is. I'm trying 0:41:12.040 --> 0:41:15.660 to think like, could the blazers shock everybody and be 0:41:15.719 --> 0:41:17.879 on pace for 54. And then all of a sudden 0:41:17.900 --> 0:41:22.109 we're talking about Denny Avdia or John Moran. And that's 0:41:22.130 --> 0:41:26.410 really hard to like buy into. If the jazz are 0:41:26.450 --> 0:41:29.030 as good as Jim Turvey thinks, if they're like absolutely 0:41:29.090 --> 0:41:31.390 killing it, who's the best player on the jazz. It's not, 0:41:31.860 --> 0:41:34.440 Like Lori marketing can't, I like, I love Lori marketing 0:41:34.460 --> 0:41:36.819 can't win MVP. It can't be Keontae George. It can't 0:41:36.840 --> 0:41:39.630 be Jaron Jackson Jr. It can't be rookie Darren Peterson. 0:41:40.050 --> 0:41:44.370 So that doesn't make sense. It's tough. Like this market is, 0:41:44.410 --> 0:41:46.310 I think is really tough, which is why I only have, 0:41:46.790 --> 0:41:48.630 I'm going to, I'm going to add Luka Doncic to 0:41:48.650 --> 0:41:50.529 my portfolio. You'll see that in the action network app. 0:41:50.730 --> 0:41:51.930 Like I just, the more I look at this, I'm 0:41:51.950 --> 0:41:54.940 just like, man, you know, I'm down. Like I'm going 0:41:54.960 --> 0:41:57.160 to have a bet on the Lakers under and Luka MVP. 0:41:57.460 --> 0:41:59.160 Cause I think there's only two outcomes here and that 0:41:59.200 --> 0:42:00.980 I'm going to be pretty satisfied with those two outcomes. 0:42:02.820 --> 0:42:04.480 Jalen Johnson, I think is another name that you want 0:42:04.500 --> 0:42:06.200 to mention. And people are probably asking like, Matt, you 0:42:06.219 --> 0:42:11.219 love the Raptors. What about Barnes? Barnes and Kawhi, if 0:42:11.280 --> 0:42:12.690 the Raptors were as good as I think they are, 0:42:12.719 --> 0:42:15.670 if they win 55, it's going to be like, oh, 0:42:15.750 --> 0:42:17.950 but Kawhi Leonard didn't qualify and he was the best 0:42:17.969 --> 0:42:19.969 player on the team. Even if Barnes was better, he 0:42:20.610 --> 0:42:22.790 won't be able to get enough bump. He just won't. 0:42:23.350 --> 0:42:25.290 Even with Scottie being a former all-star, there won't be 0:42:25.330 --> 0:42:27.950 enough bump. It will always be like, yeah, but like Kawhi. 0:42:28.110 --> 0:42:32.370 And if Kawhi If the Raptors win 55 and Kawhi 0:42:32.390 --> 0:42:35.170 plays 65 games, I still feel like they're going to 0:42:35.190 --> 0:42:37.049 be like, yeah, but Scottie Barnes is really good. And 0:42:37.230 --> 0:42:38.790 it's just very difficult for Kawhi, I think, to hit 0:42:38.810 --> 0:42:41.509 the marker. So I don't have a long shot. I 0:42:41.530 --> 0:42:43.759 just don't have one on this list. There's ways that 0:42:43.820 --> 0:42:45.860 I could talk myself into anybody. I think if you 0:42:45.960 --> 0:42:47.339 listen to the show for long enough, you can figure 0:42:47.360 --> 0:42:49.520 that out. But most of these guys are too old 0:42:50.520 --> 0:42:52.660 or their teams are too bad. And I can't get 0:42:52.700 --> 0:42:54.400 there on any of them. But I do have a 0:42:54.420 --> 0:42:57.060 best bet. And we will talk about that. presented by 0:42:57.120 --> 0:43:03.640 DraftKings Sportsbook. These are our best bets for NBA MVP 2026-27. BK, 0:43:03.680 --> 0:43:05.100 I will give you the floor to give what I 0:43:05.120 --> 0:43:07.580 think is an inspired choice, honestly, for the MVP. 0:43:08.260 --> 0:43:12.700 Jason Tatum, 20-1, has a chance to do what Jalen 0:43:12.739 --> 0:43:14.339 Brown wasn't. 0:43:14.100 --> 0:43:15.899 Able to fully accomplish last year. 0:43:16.940 --> 0:43:21.009 But Jalen Brown did accomplish something, which is succeed at 0:43:21.050 --> 0:43:23.650 a high level without the other one around. 0:43:24.680 --> 0:43:25.760 I will say this again. 0:43:25.780 --> 0:43:29.839 It is a narrative award, and sometimes the narrative is 0:43:29.900 --> 0:43:32.990 pretty crystal clear. If the Celtics are the best team 0:43:33.010 --> 0:43:35.350 in the East, which they have every opportunity to be, 0:43:36.030 --> 0:43:39.529 and Jason Tatum's numbers get a boost because he's not 0:43:39.550 --> 0:43:42.350 sharing the ball with Jalen Brown, he's going to get 0:43:42.390 --> 0:43:44.670 more credit than Jalen Brown got. And a lot of 0:43:44.710 --> 0:43:50.140 that comes down to efficiency and advanced stats. The advanced metrics, 0:43:50.800 --> 0:43:54.029 if you've listened to any NBA commentary over the last year, 0:43:54.070 --> 0:43:59.430 you would know they don't exactly like Jalen Brown. Jason 0:43:59.790 --> 0:44:03.850 Tatum is a better player than Jalen Brown. That is 0:44:03.930 --> 0:44:09.190 not necessarily opinion. It is fact. Jalen Brown turns the 0:44:09.230 --> 0:44:12.430 ball over a lot. He doesn't have great vision. The 0:44:12.489 --> 0:44:17.530 advanced stats aren't there. Jason Tatum plus 4.4 EPM. Jalen 0:44:17.550 --> 0:44:22.489 Brown was plus 1.3. The Celtics were actually better when 0:44:22.550 --> 0:44:24.790 Jalen Brown was off the court. That will not be 0:44:24.810 --> 0:44:27.770 the case with Jason Tatum this year. I think Tatum 0:44:27.790 --> 0:44:32.150 has an opportunity to really assert himself as one of 0:44:32.370 --> 0:44:37.160 the top-tier elite stars from a statistical perspective. We already 0:44:37.239 --> 0:44:39.700 view him that way from the lens of what a 0:44:39.780 --> 0:44:42.600 star is, but statistically, I think he has a chance 0:44:42.640 --> 0:44:44.480 to get there, and that 20-to-1 bet. 0:44:46.830 --> 0:44:47.730 Staring me in the face. 0:44:48.710 --> 0:44:51.530 No one tell Brandon Anderson that this happened. He will 0:44:51.590 --> 0:44:54.719 absolutely rage. He already lost a dinner bet to me 0:44:54.739 --> 0:44:57.580 that I said that Jason Tatum would make an MVP 0:44:57.620 --> 0:45:02.560 ballot for what Victor Wamenyama did. We also have one 0:45:02.580 --> 0:45:04.460 for Victor will win one before Jason Tatum, so I 0:45:04.500 --> 0:45:06.339 definitely want this one because it does look like he's 0:45:06.380 --> 0:45:11.700 closer on that one. I may add this one. He 0:45:11.739 --> 0:45:16.900 fits the age profile. He fits... The opportunity, if I 0:45:16.940 --> 0:45:18.500 think the Celtics are going to be good and I 0:45:18.540 --> 0:45:22.339 have them winning 55 to 58 games, if I think 0:45:22.360 --> 0:45:24.070 they're going to be that good, I have an obligation, 0:45:24.090 --> 0:45:27.330 I think, to play Tatum. I do think that Tatum 0:45:27.810 --> 0:45:29.730 purposely took a step back in 24 to help the 0:45:29.750 --> 0:45:33.530 team win the title. I think in 25, he was 0:45:33.800 --> 0:45:35.700 really great, but there was starting to be some tension 0:45:35.719 --> 0:45:37.720 with that team and they were over-indexed on the threes. 0:45:38.620 --> 0:45:41.380 Obviously lost last year to the Achilles. And now he 0:45:41.400 --> 0:45:43.840 has a lot to prove. We have seen better outcomes 0:45:43.860 --> 0:45:45.800 from guys coming back from the Achilles than ever before. 0:45:46.620 --> 0:45:48.660 I think it's a phenomenal story. He does have games 0:45:48.700 --> 0:45:50.759 under his belt, so he's not coming in fresh like Halliburton. 0:45:50.820 --> 0:45:55.560 He has played in NBA games. At 18-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook, 0:45:55.600 --> 0:45:58.279 I do like Jason Tatum as well. But my best 0:45:58.320 --> 0:46:05.900 bet is going to be Cade Cunningham at 22-1. So Cade, 0:46:06.540 --> 0:46:10.320 it's interesting because basically last year, the Pistons kept winning 0:46:11.920 --> 0:46:14.819 and killed everyone in 160 games, and the Pistons never 0:46:14.840 --> 0:46:17.049 got credit in the market. And you go like, well, 0:46:17.170 --> 0:46:18.930 look what happened. And it's like, yeah, they made it 0:46:18.950 --> 0:46:21.550 to the second round, and they faced a veteran team 0:46:21.650 --> 0:46:26.250 that beat them in seven games. When I specifically look 0:46:26.270 --> 0:46:30.719 at the roster that Detroit put around him, John Collins 0:46:31.020 --> 0:46:33.560 may not be as good of an on-ball player as 0:46:34.100 --> 0:46:36.620 Tobias Harris is. He's not. Tobias is really good on-ball. 0:46:36.940 --> 0:46:39.860 And Tobias is a sneaky good rebounder. But Collins is 0:46:39.890 --> 0:46:42.750 a better defender, and Collins is a better corner three-point 0:46:42.790 --> 0:46:45.770 shooter and spacer. He knows how to space around iso 0:46:45.890 --> 0:46:48.990 engines like Cade. He did it in Atlanta with Trey Young, 0:46:49.310 --> 0:46:51.150 and that's where he started to make his name. He 0:46:51.190 --> 0:46:55.210 knows how to do this. I think John Collins is 0:46:55.270 --> 0:46:59.770 about the right things. They added Isaiah Joe to the bench, 0:46:59.950 --> 0:47:01.930 so they have a shooter coming off of the bench now. 0:47:02.250 --> 0:47:05.550 You can deploy a lineup with Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, 0:47:05.670 --> 0:47:09.569 and Isaiah Joe. You can attack that roster defensively, but 0:47:09.590 --> 0:47:11.470 you're still going to have to deal with Jalen Duren 0:47:11.550 --> 0:47:15.739 and Asar Thompson and Paul Reed and Ron Holland. Ron Holland, 0:47:15.760 --> 0:47:18.719 by the way, who had seven stocks in his preseason 0:47:18.739 --> 0:47:22.260 first game yesterday. Ron Holland's a monster that nobody realizes 0:47:22.280 --> 0:47:26.010 because everybody focuses on Asar. I think this Pistons team 0:47:26.050 --> 0:47:28.950 is still going to win upwards of 55 plus games. 0:47:29.190 --> 0:47:30.950 I think this Pistons team is still going to be excellent. 0:47:30.989 --> 0:47:32.750 I think they'll be better balanced. And you know what 0:47:32.770 --> 0:47:35.830 happens if they're better balanced? Cade Cunningham racks up assists. 0:47:36.230 --> 0:47:38.010 And he does get closer to those kinds of numbers. 0:47:38.050 --> 0:47:39.569 It's not going to shock me. If Kate comes in 0:47:39.910 --> 0:47:46.839 and averages 28, eight and six, those are really good numbers. 28, 0:47:46.840 --> 0:47:48.920 eight and eight. Like he can put those numbers in. 0:47:48.960 --> 0:47:50.720 I think he can get there. I think his passing 0:47:50.760 --> 0:47:53.180 and his rebounding with his athleticism is good. And he's 0:47:53.219 --> 0:47:55.680 a better defender than anybody else that we've talked about 0:47:56.020 --> 0:47:58.430 with the possible exception of Tatum. But even Tatum is, 0:47:58.650 --> 0:48:02.710 has taken a dip because of injuries in minutes. He, well, Victor, 0:48:02.790 --> 0:48:06.210 Victor's a better defender, but like, He is a great 0:48:06.250 --> 0:48:09.750 perimeter defender. Cade Cunningham. I buy the Pistons. And so 0:48:09.810 --> 0:48:12.450 I buy Cade Cunningham. My best bet for MVP is 0:48:12.469 --> 0:48:17.230 going to be Cade Cunningham, 22 to one at DraftKings Sportsbook. 0:48:17.750 --> 0:48:19.690 They're giving out profit boost every game day. So you 0:48:19.710 --> 0:48:22.780 don't want to miss it. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app today. 0:48:23.030 --> 0:48:26.359 The crown is yours. All right. That's going to do 0:48:26.400 --> 0:48:28.860 it for buckets on the MVP. I appreciate Brandon Kravitz 0:48:28.900 --> 0:48:31.460 joining me through the sickness. Appreciate you guys being with us. 0:48:31.460 --> 0:48:34.070 We'll have more content for you coming up. Later in 0:48:34.090 --> 0:48:36.490 the week, we've got awards on all the other awards. 0:48:36.530 --> 0:48:38.640 I talked about that with Jim Turvey. We've got teams 0:48:38.660 --> 0:48:41.020 that we're going to fade. All sorts of stuff coming 0:48:41.060 --> 0:48:43.120 for you down the pipeline. We're doing a draft next week. 0:48:43.140 --> 0:48:44.540 It's going to be great. Lots of great stuff coming 0:48:44.580 --> 0:48:46.940 for you. Preseason action continues to roll on. Thanks for 0:48:46.960 --> 0:48:48.960 joining us. My thanks to David Payne, our producer, who 0:48:49.000 --> 0:48:51.839 did four podcasts at once, I think, tonight. Thanks to him. 0:48:51.860 --> 0:48:54.100 Appreciate you guys for being with us. We'll see you 0:48:54.120 --> 0:48:59.420 guys again next time. Until then, let's get bucking. Action 0:48:59.460 --> 0:49:03.870 Network reminds you, please gamble responsibly. If you or someone 0:49:03.910 --> 0:49:06.840 you care about has a gambling problem, help is available 0:49:06.840 --> 0:49:07.259 24 7 at 1-800-GAMBLER.