NBA MVP Award Odds and Predictions

The NBA Preseason is underway so what better time to look at the upcoming season. Today we’ll cover the MVP Award. Be sure you get your bets in at BetUS.com before the season starts because after game one the odds will be gone.

We have the MVP Award favorites, contenders and a long shot with a shot.

Favorites

LeBron James – We know what the King brings, everything. Regardless of what you think Shaq has left, there is no doubt that LeBron is Batman and Shaq is Robin in this dynamic duo. LeBron will average close to a triple double for the season and provide lockdown defense for the Cavs as they make another run at the Eastern Conference title.  If Shaq plays his role, the Cavs will cruise to another first place finish, which will lock up the MVP for James. If the Shaq experiment fails in Cleveland your winner will be…

Kobe Bryant – Kobe is an assassin, a killer, there isn’t another player in the league you would rather have with your team down 5 late in the fourth quarter. Unlike LeBron who often escapes criticism for his teams failures, Kobe takes it all. If the Lakers lose, it’s all on Kobe. He is criticized for not getting his team involved. If he gets his team involved, he is criticized for not taking over the game.

Contenders

Dwyane Wade – In the “Where will the sign in 2010?” debate, everyone mentions Chris Bosh, Lebron James but very few are talking about D-wade. Of the 3 Wade could be the one who makes his way out of Miami.  With that in mind, if either Kobe or Lebron stumble in their quest for the MVP award, Dwyane Wade will be next in line, players will never admit they crank it up in a contract year but the extra motivation often propels them to career years.  If Wade improves his stats from a year ago, it could be too much for MVP voters to ignore.

Dwight Howard – The Orlando quietly had the best offseason of any of the leagues contenders, adding Vince Carter and hopefully having Jameer Nelson for a full season will keep Orlando close to the top of the Eastern Conference once again this year. Howard is a beast on the boards, is shotblocking ability forces teams to adjust their offense more than any other player in the league. If he improves his free throw percentage beyond  60%, a 25 and 15 season is not out of the question.

Long Shot with a Shot

Kevin Durant – A lot has to happen for Durant to win the award but this young man has the talent of the other players on the list. This week he showed the world he has the killer instinct of the top two on the list. True Hoops’ Henry Abbott wrote a column about Kevin Durant’s poor Plus/Minus stats costing the Oklahoma City Thunder wins. KD got into it with several fans and even voiced his displeasure with Abbot about the column via micro-blogging site twitter but what stands out is in tonight’s (October 12^th) game versus the Suns, Durant finished with a +24 to lead all players in the game.

Tomorrow we are back to look at the Sportsbook Veterans picks for Rookie of the Year.

Odds to Win the NBA MVP

Kobe Bryant                       7/2

LeBron James                    11/4

Dwayne Wade                  5/1

Dwight Howard                 8/1

Carmelo Anthony            10/1

Chris Paul                            10/1

Dirk Nowitzki                     12/1

Tim Duncan                        12/1

Brandon Roy                      15/1

Tony Parker                        16/1

Deron Williams                  20/1

Shaquille O’Neal               20/1

Gilbert Arenas                   25/1

Amare Stoudemire         30/1

Carlos Boozer                    30/1

Chris Bosh                           30/1

Danny Granger                 30/1

Kevin Durant                      30/1

Kevin Garnett                    30/1

Pau Gasol                            30/1

Paul Pierce                          30/1

Steve Nash                         30/1

Joe Johnson                       50/1