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Sports Betting Futures Odds: World Series and NBA Season Begin on Same Day

by - 10/25/2016

Kris Bryant Chicago Cubs

This is a time that rivals the Final Four and the start of each Major League Baseball season. Yes, it's October and that means the end of baseball and the beginning of basketball. Tuesday marks the start of an almost hard-to-believe World Series between the Cubs and Indians, while LeBron James and the Cavs are set to begin their NBA title defense.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook.

World Series MVP

Kris Bryant (+500) -The Cubs are -190 favorites to win it all, so their stars are obviously the top choices for MVP. Bryant is batting .333 during the postseason with six RBIs. The 24-year-old third baseman had three multi-hit games at the Dodgers' expense.

Jon Lester (+550) - Avoiding a Game 7 against L.A. has allowed Chicago to start Lester in Game 1 on Tuesday. To say Lester's postseason experience is extensive would be an understatement (19 games, 17 starts). The southpaw is 2-0 during these playoffs with a 0.86 ERA.

Anthony Rizzo (+600) -Rizzo was ice cold during the NLDS against Washington and early in the NLCS against the Dodgers. But he heated up in a hurry and is on a current four-game hitting streak with eight hits and two homers during this stretch.

Corey Kluber (+1000) - It will be ace vs. ace when Kluber and Lester take the mound for Game 1. Kluber does not have the same playoff experience as his counterpart, but he is a similar 2-1 with a 0.98 ERA during this postseason. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is also a +1000 fourth choice.

NBA scoring leader

Russell Westbrook (+160) -Kevin Durant played almost a full slate of games last season (72 of 82 games) in Oklahoma City, so Westbrook averaged a relatively modest 23.5 points per game. Westbrook had averaged 28.1 ppg when Durant played in just 27 of 67 games during the 2014-15 campaign. With Durant gone, Westbrook should erupt.

James Harden (+200) -Speaking of players who score more when they don't have to share the ball with Durant, Harden never scored more than 16.8 ppg in three seasons with the Thunder. In five years as a Rocket, Harden has poured in at least 25.4 ppg on each occasion. He scored more than everyone except Stephen Curry in 2015-16.

Kevin Durant (+600) -Harden is the only player on this list of four who has never won it. Durant has accomplished the feat four times, with Westbrook (2014-15) and Curry (2015-16) having each done it once. Durant, who was MVP in 2013-14 when he averaged 32.0 ppg, will be hard-pressed to score as much in Golden State.

Stephen Curry (+650) -Curry is the two-time reigning NBA MVP and he also captured the scoring title last season with 30.1 ppg. That average was more than seven points better than his previous best output. In the same situation as Durant now, the former Davidson starmay not be able to maintain that pace as part of such a loaded roster.

WGC-HSBC Champions

Rory McIlroy (+550) - Nobody is hotter at the moment than McIlory, even though he and Team Europe went down to Patrick Reed at the Americans in the Ryder Cup. McIlory won two PGA Tour playoff events-including the Tour Championship-to win the FedEx Cup. He finished a decent T11 at this tournament last year.

Dustin Johnson (+550) - Johnson seemed to have the FedEx Cup all wrapped up before McIlroy stormed from behind to triumph in Atlanta. Still, the 32-year-old American earned PGA Tour Player of the Year honors. Johnson won the WGC-HSBC Champions event in 2013 at a record 24-under par and finished T5 last season.

Hideki Matsuyama (+1600) - Matsuyama has never done much at this tournament, but he is in fine form at the moment. In fact, Japan's top player is coming off a runner-up performance at last week's CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur. He also finished fifth at the Tour Championship, so Matsuyama has to be confident heading into Shanghai.

Henrik Stenson (+1600) - The British Open champion and silver medalist at the Rio Olympics has cooled off a bit since his torrid summer, but he should be recovered from a recent knee injury. The Swede finished T24 at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in 2014 and tied with McIlroy for 11th in 2015.

World Series of Poker

Cliff Josephy (+210) - The "November Nine" return to action on Sunday in their quest for the most coveted prize in poker. Jospehy is the oldest player remaining at 51 years old and he is the only one with a WSOP gold bracelet on his resume. The Syosset, N.Y. native actually has two (one from 2005 and another from 2013).

Qui Nguyen (+350) - Josephy is the current chip leader with 74,600,000, almost 7,000,000 clear of Nguyen. An unlikely title contender, Nguyen previously had just $9,029 in WSOP earnings. The 39-year-old Arkansas native went into this event with a mere $52,986 in lifetime tournament poker winnings.


Gordon Vayo (+450) - Vayo sits in third place, not quite 20,000,000 chips south of Nguyen. The 27-year-old San Francisco resident had never previously cashed in at the main event, but he is an established poker professional with 26 career WSOP cashes totaling $608,136. He is guaranteed at least $1 million by reaching the final table.

Kenny Hallaert (+500) - With 43,325,000 chips, Hallaert is almost exactly 4,000,000 behind Vayo and more than 11,000,000 ahead of fifth-place Michael Ruane. The 34-year-old Belgian has raked in 22 WSOP cashes totaling $367,855, giving him $1,317,530 in career live tournament winnings.

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