Houston Rockets guard James Harden pulled off a magnificent feat on the final day of 2016, earning an astonishing 53 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds in his team’s 129-122 victory of the New York Knicks. It was the first time any player has ever broken the 50-15-15 barrier and it effectively put him in a two-horsed MVP race with Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, and it is set to be a fascinating battle in 2017. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have consolidated their positions at the top of their respective divisions and are on course for another NBA Finals showdown, with Cleveland gaining a psychological edge by beating them on Christmas Day. It promises to be another exciting year in the NBA, with plenty of value for punters.
MVP
Westbrook looked to have this accolade sewn up going into the festive period. The Oklahoma City guard is crucial to his team and has been dubbed Mr Triple Double this year thanks to his phenomenal stats. For the uninitiated, a triple double requires a player to hit double figures on points, assists and rebounds in a game, and Westbrook is averaging 30.9 points per game – the best in the league – along with 10.7 assists and 10.5 rebounds. The closest contender looked set to be LeBron James, but the Cavaliers superstar’s stats aren’t as high this season and he has been rested a fair bit, as evidenced in Cleveland’s defeat to the Pistons on December 27.
Now though Harden has muscled in, with a record-breaking performance. He became only the fifth player of all time to record a triple-double while also scoring 40 points, the others being James, Westbrook, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, but his points and rebounds put his performance a notch above. He has now become second favourite to be crowned regular season MVP. Some bookmakers are offering just 2/1 or 9/4 on him, but Bet Victor has a generous 4/1, which looks a great bet. This looks like a two horsed race now, and with 888 Sport offering 2/1 on favourite Westbrook, you can back both and make a profit if they remain at the top – which they should.
NBA Championship
The Warriors still have the best record in the league, with a win record of 85.3% and look unstoppable in the Western Conference, which they are just 4/11 to win with Sky Bet (although some may fancy a speculative bet on Westbrook’s Thunder at 40/1 with William Hill). But the team to really watch looks to be the Cavaliers. Their win record is not so good, at just 78.1%, but they are still comfortably leading the conference and have made a habit of resting James and losing without him. But when he plays, they are ferocious, as they showed by beating the Warriors 109-108 on Christmas Day. The Cavs were down 14 points in the fourth quarter but rallied to make up the deficit and win it at the death, with James in the driving seat on 31 points. They bested the Warriors in last season’s Finals, and look like they could do so again in 2017, so the 3/1 various bookmakers are offering on them looks a good bet right now. But the Warriors will take some stopping and also look good at 4/5 with Sky Bet. Again you can hedge your bets on these two.
Upcoming games
The Warriors face an out of sorts Bulls team on Thursday and can be expected to cover a high spread, while the Cavs should beat the Trail Blazers pretty comfortably on the same day. A huge game takes place on Friday between the Rockets and the Thunder, where will we see Harden and Westbrook go head to head. The Rockets got the better of them when they last played, winning by three points on December 10, and can repeat the feat here as they are on a roll at the moment.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
