Tag: NBA ROY

Twitter reacts as Anthony Edwards snubbed for NBA Rookie of the Year

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards lost the NBA Rookie of the Year Award to Lamelo Ball.

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards fell short of winning the 2020-2021 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Charlotte Hornets point guard Lamelo Ball won the award despite missing 21 games due to injury.

Edwards and Ball will forever be linked together as members of the 2020 NBA draft class. Edwards was the No. 1 selection and Ball was the No. 3 pick. Both players had impressive rookie seasons and have NBA All-Star potential.

Anthony Edwards had a better season statistically than Lamelo Ball, but Lamelo Ball’s voters will argue that Ball was more valuable to his team. Ball and the Hornets went 33-39 last season. Charlotte was in position to make the playoffs until the last game of the regular season. The Hornets greatly missed Ball when he missed extended time during the end of the season with a wrist injury.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves went only 23-49 in another lackluster season for the franchise. Edwards did average 19.3 points per game compared to Lamelo’s 15.7 points per game.

Here is how NBA Twitter reacted to Lamelo Ball winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award at the expense of Anthony Edwards:

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NBA Rookie of the Year Odds and Best Bets: Zion Williamson among favorites

Analyzing the betting odds to be named the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year. Is Zion Williamson worth a bet among the midseason favorites?

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The 2019-20 NBA season is roughly half over and the top contenders for the Rookie of the Year award have started to emerge. The 2019 NBA Draft’s No. 1 pick in PF Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans makes his NBA debut Wednesday and remains among the betting favorites. Below, we analyze the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year betting odds and make our picks. Can Williamson make up for missed time and upset the midseason favorites?

Get some action on the NBA Rookie of the Year odds or other NBA action by placing a legal sports bet at BetMGM.

NBA Rookie of the Year Picks: Zion Williamson +1100

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.

Williamson was considered the likely first overall pick for almost the entirety of his freshman season at Duke in 2018-19, and he just so happened to fall right into the lap of the Pelicans as the logical replacement to Anthony Davis. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound forward averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 68.0% from the field over 33 games in his only college campaign.

He steps into a Pelicans lineup sitting 12th in the Western Conference at 17-27. They’re averaging 114.4 points per game and allowing 117.6 (minus-3.2).

While it’s conceivable Williamson’s return could lead the Pelicans to an unexpected playoff berth (they trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 3.5 games for the eighth seed), the Pelicans are unlikely to allow him to play all of their remaining 38 games. They have four sets of back-to-backs remaining, likely limiting Williamson to a maximum of 34 games for his rookie campaign.

Since the 2010-11 season, only PG Kyrie Irving in 2011-12 has won Rookie of the Year honors while playing fewer than 70 games. He played 51. It’s hard not to root for Williamson for the remainder of the season, but there’s no sense in backing him to win this award at such low odds. PASS.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Williamson to be named the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year would return a profit of $110 if he were to win.

NBA Rookie of the Year Picks: Top Contenders

Name Team Odds GP PPG RPG APG
Ja Morant MEM -556 37 17.9 3.5 7.0
Kendrick Nunn MIA +1000 43 16.3 2.8 3.6
RJ Barrett NYK +1200 41 14.1 5.2 2.5
Tyler Herro MIA +2500 40 12.9 4.2 2.1

Morant is favored by a landslide just past the halfway point of the season. The No. 2 pick of the draft has the Grizzlies in an unlikely playoff position and has fast-tracked their rebuild after the recent departures of franchise pillars C Marc Gasol and PG Mike Conley.

There’s no value in backing Morant with a $10 bet returning a profit of just $1.80. I’d make a small wager on Nunn (+1000) to hedge against a potential injury to Morant or collapse by the Grizzlies, but otherwise, I’m avoiding betting on an award seemingly already locked up.

Want some action on the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year odds or other NBA games? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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