The 2024-25 NBA is rolling with Week 1 now in the books. It’s one the James and Lakers families won’t ever forget.
NBA Wrap
The 2024-25 NBA season is underway, and the Boston Celtics have kicked off their campaign with three wins on the bounce to remain as $4.50 favourites to win the title.
While the Celtics dominanted on the court, the big story came with LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the first father and son duo in NBA history. As expected, Bronny will spend some time in the G League to get up to speed with the league. The Los Angeles Lakers have started well in general. Anthony Davis is undoubtedly the focal point of this team now and JJ Redick seems to have inspired a new brand of basketball for this group.
The Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama pick-and-roll is going to be a problem for NBA defence’s this season:
ANOTHER CHRIS PAUL LOB TO WEMBY! AND ONE! MVP CHANTS. pic.twitter.com/sd46dfbuee
— CP3REGION (@CP3REGION) October 27, 2024
Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, won’t be.
The Denver Nuggets are really struggling for depth and need Westbrook to lead the bench to give meaning to the 41 points Nikola Jokic managed against the LA Clippers. Instead, Westbrook finished with 0 points shooting 0-8 for a team-low -13 plus-minus.
Lonzo Ball is back in the NBA following over two years off the court and his Chicago Bulls already look better for it. They picked up an unlikely win over the Milwaukee Bucks during the week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjjU5vXiYW8
Karl-Anthony Towns played out his Madison Square Garden debut for the New York Knicks for 17 points on 5-11 shooting along with 15 rebounds, a steal and two blocks. The Knicks thumped the Pacers following a disastrous season opener. Similarly, the Minnesota Timberwolves bounced back from a poor showing in their first game with back-to-back wins.
3 Overreactions from Week 1
Hield & Caruso Show Value In Sixth Man Value
It’s the time of the NBA season to hunt for value in the futures markets.
We will touch on a few different markets here in the coming weeks, but start with the Sixth Man of the Year.
Malik Monk is the early $5.50 favourite and ahead of last years winner, Naz Reid, at $9.50. However, Buddy Hield presents as a value option after the first week of the season at $11.
Buddy Hield this season:
49 points
12 threes
34 minutes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WhKARhelAI— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2024
Golden State Warriors is the perfect place for Hield at this stage of his career. He can still create his own shot and lead the second unit when required. However, there isn’t a better team in the league at working off the ball and creating good looks for shooters. On and off the ball, Hield has already shown plenty to average 24.5 points per game through two. Those numbers won’t hold up. The Warriors have been blessed in playing the Trail Blazers and Jazz to start. Still, award winners tend to be guards who score, and Hield will put himself in the conversation.
Alex Caruso is more of a rouge pick. He ticks the guard box, but he’s not going to be a major scorer. Instead, he’s going to make his mark in the effort areas and in defence. He’s at $26 to win Defensive Player of the Year off the bench for a reason.
The 30-year-old is going to rebound, dish out assists, and cause problems in defence. He shot over 40% from beyond the arc last year, too. However, he’s not flashy. We’re going to be relying on voters looking deeper than the counting stats and highlights for Caruso to win. It’s unlikely, but playing on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that should finish towards the top of the Western Conference, Caruso is worth getting around at $26. This might be the year voters look at the award differently.
Bet Now NBA Sixth Man of the Year
Haliburton’s Struggles
Game 1: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 6-18 shooting.
Game 2: 0 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 0-7 shooting.
A quarter of every NBA podcast right now is made up of various “it’s early” prefaces, so we don’t need to add more. It’s obvious. Nonetheless, Tyrese Haliburton’s opening two games of the season are a concern. He’s the focal point for this Indiana Pacers offence, and any improvement hoped of them for this season starts with him.
Tyrese Haliburton:
0 points
0-8 FG
0-7 three
-23 game worst pic.twitter.com/pViOGzWg8E— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 26, 2024
The Pacers opened the season 1-1 and are still $1.16 to make the playoffs. There hasn’t been an overraction in the markets and nor should there. Still, Haliburton’s numbers are something to follow over the next week. If we’re still looking at similar in seven days from now, we might start to see prices change.
Celtics Still Supreme
The Boston Celtics “revenge tour” narrative is comfortably the most boring and tired already this season.
This team doesn’t need ‘revenge’ to win back-to-back NBA championships with the talent on the roster. They’ve returned with much of the same group as last season to start this one 3-0.
Opening night saw the Celtics tie the record for most made threes in a game in an opener. It also saw them miss 13 in a row as they searched for the shot that would give them the record outright.
The Celtics dominated the Pistons in the first half of their latest game to score 73 points and carry a 12-point lead into the locker room. However, when they go ice cold, the Celtics go ice cold. They let the Pistons back in it with only 21 points in the third quarter before scrambling to a six-point win.
Boston is the benchmark. Their three-point shooting is enough on its own to thrash any team on their day. But how they score when the three-ball isn’t dropping will be worth monitoring. If the lowly Pistons can mount a comeback during a poor patch in shooting, any team can.
It will take more than a few missed threes to unseat the Celtics as favourites, though. They remain on the first line of betting to win the championship at $4.20.
NBA Futures
NBA Futures Portfolio: Suns to win Pacific Division ($3.20), Lakers Over 42.5 wins, Kings miss playoffs ($2.12), Cavaliers Over 48.5 wins ($1.91), Knicks Over 53.5 wins ($1.87).
We already have five of the best NBA futures down, and we’re looking for more to start the season.
Adding Hield and Caruso to the Sixth Man of the Year market already appeals, and Anthony Davis to win Defensive Player of the Year at $10 is next. He has the talent, the expectation and the narrative. While Victor Wembanyama is the heavy favourite, he’s not the lock his $2.10 suggests he might be.
Davis looks fantastic already. The Lakers forward thinks he should have won it last year. We will give it another week before locking him into win it this time around.
TOP 6 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
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| TEAM | CURRENT PRICE | LAST WEEK’S PRICE | |
| Boston Celtics | $4.20 | $- | |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | $8.50 | $- | |
| New York Knicks | $9.50 | $- | |
| Dallas Mavericks | $11 | $- | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | $11 | $- | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | $11 | $- | |