NBA Draft Odds - Griffin the consensus No. 1
The 2009 NBA Draft Odds are posted for Thursday’s extravaganza, and aside from who will be the first pick overall in the draft, everything else is pretty much up in the air. Online betting fans can expect Blake Griffin to be the first pick off the board, but beyond that, there will be a lot of jockeying for position.
NBA Draft odds: After Griffin, point guards to dominate top 10
- Griffin the clear-cut No. 1 pick of the draft
- ACC will have a healthy presence in the first round
- Hasheem Thabeet the likely pick at No. 2 overall
Betting on the NBA Draft Odds is a little different than betting basketball in general. There are a number of props up in the sportsbook so let’s take a closer look to see where the value is:
NBA Draft Odds: Over/under total # of players from ACC conference taken in round 1
NBA betting handicappers know that the ACC is a talent factory, and this year’s crop looks to be a good one. Out of 30 first round picks, there should be about six or seven players drafted. Tyler Hansbrough (UNC), Gerald Henderson (Duke), James Johnson (Wake Forest), Jeff Teague (Wake Forest), Wayne Ellington (UNC) and Ty Lawson (UNC) should be locks for the first round while Toney Douglas (Florida State) will be the swingman. Douglas was a solid player at FSU but he may be a point guard-shooting `tweener, which may push him into the second round.
NBA Draft Odds: Over/under total # of players from Big East conference taken in round 1
The NBA Draft Odds suggest that there will be about seven players taken out of the Big East conference in the first round, and that’s about accurate. Hasheem Thabeet (UConn) is a lock for the Top 5, Jonny Flynn (Syracuse) and Earl Clark (Louisville) will be in the Top 10 range, DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) and Terrence Williams (Louisville) should be Top 20 while DaJuan Summers (Georgetown) and Sam Young (Pittsburgh) should be buzzing around the back end of the first round. Summers and Young figure to be the swingmen in this equation, with both having potential to drop out of the first round. They have “solid second-round pick” written all over them.
NBA Draft Odds: Who will be drafted second overall?
As mentioned, the NBA odds makers know that the first pick overall is a lock, but who is next in line? Some experts project the Memphis Grizzlies drafting a big man in Hasheem Thabeet while others feel that stellar European point guard Ricky Rubio might be the man. The Grizzlies need front court help as well as defense, so Thabeet figures to be the answer unless the team trades down.
For more news on sports betting, check out the BetOnline.com Betting Edge all throughout the NBA season.
Craig Parsons is an avid sports fan, but his true love has always been basketball. Too short to realize his dream of playing in the NBA, he did the next best thing: sports betting and covering basketball for a living. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
