Winners Club: Where NBA Title Odds and Award Races Stand at the All-Star Break
After Thursday night’s three-game slate, the NBA is on hold for almost an entire week for the All-Star break.
Some players are headed to Utah for the festivities while others will simply enjoy an extended rest before the home stretch of the season. See where things stand in the Association and then take a look ahead to what’s bound to be a busy spring in the NFL.
In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:
- NBA standings and championship odds
- Betting breakdowns for NBA awards
- SI’s NFL mock draft 4.0
- NFL draft No. 1 pick odds
- Top landing spots for Lamar Jackson
- Fantasy baseball round 1 review
Where Things Stand at the All-Star Break
All-Star weekend gets underway from Salt Lake City on Friday with the Celebrity Game. Saturday is when the action truly begins with the skills challenge, three-point contest and dunk contest. You can find the full list of participants for each here.
And then Sunday night, Team Giannis takes on Team LeBron. The starters and reserves have already been announced by the league, but the teams aren’t yet set as the All-Star draft is set to take place just before tipoff on Sunday. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status is in doubt, though, after he sprained his wrist in Thursday’s game against the Bulls.
With regular-season play not resuming until next Thursday, this is a great time to take a snapshot of the league’s standings and check in on every team’s record and championship title odds, which you’ll find in parentheses below.
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics: 42–17 (+275)
2. Milwaukee Bucks: 41–17 (+400)
3. Philadelphia 76ers: 38–19 (+1200)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers: 38–23 (+2200)
5. Brooklyn Nets: 34–24 (+10000)
6. New York Knicks: 33–27 (+22000)
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7. Miami Heat: 32–27 (+5000)
8. Atlanta Hawks: 29–30 (+15000)
9. Washington Wizards: 28–30 (+50000)
10. Toronto Raptors: 28–31 (+17500)
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11. Chicago Bulls: 26–33 (+25000)
12. Indiana Pacers: 26–34 (+50000)
13. Orlando Magic: 24–35 (+50000)
14. Charlotte Hornets: 17–43 (+50000)
15. Detroit Pistons: 15–44 (+50000)
Matt Slocum/AP
Western Conference
1. Denver Nuggets: 41–18 (+700)
2. Memphis Grizzlies: 35–22 (+1400)
3. Sacramento Kings: 32–25 (+15000)
4. Los Angeles Clippers: 33–28 (+1000)
5. Phoenix Suns: 32–28 (+450)
6. Dallas Mavericks: 31–29 (+1400)
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7. New Orleans Pelicans: 30–29 (+5500)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves: 31–30 (+25000)
9. Golden State Warriors: 29–29 (+1400)
10. Oklahoma City Thunder: 28–29 (+50000)
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11. Utah Jazz: 29–31 (+50000)
12. Portland Trail Blazers: 28–30 (+50000)
13. Los Angeles Lakers: 27–32: (+5500)
14. San Antonio Spurs: 14–45 (+50000)
15. Houston Rockets: 13–45 (+50000)
David Zalubowski/AP
SI Betting is also checking in with the races for the NBA’s individual awards at the season’s unofficial midway point. Sixth Man and Coach of the Year are still to come, but the top contenders for the other four awards, as well as breakdowns of the betting field for each, can be found below.
1. Nikola Jokic -175
2. Joel Embiid +400
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo +650
1. Paolo Banchero -1613
2. Bennedict Mathurin +850
3. Walker Kessler +3000
T-1. Lauri Markkanen +125
T-1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +125
3. Jalen Brunson +375
1. Jaren Jackson Jr. -200
T-2. Brook Lopez +700
T-2. Nicolas Claxton +700
T-2. Bam Adebayo +700
Quarterbacks Galore in Mock Draft No. 4
Kevin Hanson released his fourth NFL mock draft (with no projected trades—yet) and it sheds more light on how some of the top prospects will be evaluated, what the quarterback demand will be and how team need fits into the equation.
A quarterback does not go No. 1 to the Bears in this particular mock, but three signal callers come off the board in the top 10 and four go in the first round.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is a -150 favorite to go first overall at SI Sportsbook and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud has the second-best odds to do so at +300. Alabama linebacker Will Anderson (+500), George defensive tackle Jalen Carter (+600) and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis (+700) round out the top five.
Gary Vasquez/USA Today network
Michael Fabiano is weighing in on the best landing spots for some of the top pending free agents or, in the case of Lamar Jackson, players who could be on the move.
Baltimore can exercise the franchise tag on the former league MVP even if they don’t agree on a contract extension, but what are the best fantasy landing spots for the dual-threat quarterback if he were to somehow get traded?
Las Vegas? Atlanta? See which teams Fabiano believes would be the best fit for Jackson.
In Other News
Fantasy Baseball Round 1 Breakdown: With her own expert league draft approaching, Jen Piacenti shares how she would build out a 5x5 roster and how she ranks the top players, starting with Phillies shortstop Trea Turner.
Buccaneers Hire Dave Canales as OC: Tampa Bay is bringing in the Seahawks former quarterbacks coach to replace Byron Leftwich. Canales has been with Seattle since 2010, when Pete Carroll arrived.
Cardinals Plan to Part Ways with DC Vance Joseph: After Arizona hired former Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon to be its head coach, it was reported that the team intends to “release” Joseph from his contract. He’s reportedly set to interview with the Eagles and Broncos for the same position.
Cavaliers Working on Buyout with Kevin Love: Cleveland is finalizing a buyout with the veteran forward, who's spent nine of his 15 seasons in the NBA with the team. Several teams, including the Heat, are expected to be interested in signing Love once he becomes a free agent.
Thanks for reading Winners Club! Enjoy your weekend, I’ll talk to you next week.
