We went a perfect 3-0 with our betting picks for the NBA Saturday Night skills competition. We didn’t go with a favorite in any event and made out like a bandit. Our only regret is that we didn’t put them in a parlay.

The second-half of the NBA season is set to start later this week. There are still plenty of regular season and postseason NBA future bets that still have some value.

There are a few bets that are now only two-man races, like Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are by far the favorites to win Rookie of the Year. It would take a miracle for a guy like Dennis Smith Jr. or Jayson Tatum to surpass those guys. There isn’t a single dark horse worth throwing some jellybeans towards.

Can a surprise team come out of the Western or Eastern Conferences and make it to the NBA Finals? 

NBA League MVP
James Harden – 2/7
LeBron James – 5/2
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 15/1
Kevin Durant – 20/1
Kyrie Irving – 20/1
Stephen Curry – 20/1
DeMar DeRozan – 40/1
Jimmy Butler – 50/1
Russell Westbrook – 50/1
Anthony Davis – 75/1
Karl Anthony Towns – 100/1
Joel Embiid – 200/1

This year’s NBA MVP award is almost a two-man race right now. The Houston Rockets are on a tear and James Harden is having another great offensive season. I would probably throw a few jellybeans on Harden, but his path to the MVP is still difficult. LeBron basically had half of his team traded at the deadline, so if the Cavs improve, he will get all of the MVP love.

As far as a dark horse pick goes, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the farthest down I’d go on this list. Durant will split the vote with Curry and Irving is surrounded by a lot of talent, but would benefit from not getting his vote split with a teammate. The only thing that hurts the Greek Freak would be that his team isn’t one of the elite teams. It’s hard to win the MVP if you’re a borderline playoff team. Russell Westbrook had to average a triple-double last season to put himself in the MVP race.

I’m surprised Victor Oladipo isn’t at least getting some love as a possible MVP. He’s made the Pacers a probably playoff team. I doubt there is a shred of hope of him winning, but if he was low on this list, I’d put a few jellybeans and pray. 

NBA Rookie of the Year
Ben Simmons – 20/57
Donovan Mitchell – 2/1
Dennis Smith – 25/1
Jayson Tatum – 30/1
Lauri Markkanen – 30/1
Lonzo Ball – 50/1

As I said earlier, this race is a two-man race. Smith isn’t shooting well, Tatum is in a slump and Markkanen is on one of the worst team. Simmons had this in the bag up until about a month ago. Mitchell has been getting better and better. I’ve seen his name trending on Twitter a handful of times this season. He’s flashy and had been the best person on his team multiples times. Simmons has barely shot outside of the paint all season and Embiid takes a lot of his shine. Mitchell is a better overall shooter and has a laundry list of poster dunks. Also, as inane as it is, Mitchell’s Slam Dunk Contest win is something that get him a couple extra votes. You’re not really supposed to figure that in, but it’s all subjective at this point. Plus, Simmons could get knocked since he’s ‘technically’ a rookie, but he was selected in the previous draft. Will voters knock him for getting an extra year of first-hand NBA study?

Eastern Conference Champions
Cleveland Cavaliers – 5/9
Toronto Raptors – 3/1
Boston Celtics – 4/1
Washington Wizards – 20/1
Milwaukee Bucks – 27/1
Philadelphia 76ers – 27/1
Detroit Pistons – 75/1
Indiana Pacers – 90/1
Miami Heat – 190/1
Charlotte Hornets – 450/1

I eliminated all of the teams that have zero shot of at least making it into the playoffs. This is what we are left with (and the inclusion of the Hornets barely made the cut). The Raptors currently have the best record in the East at 41-16 with the Celtics behind them at 40-19. The Cavs are favored here, but they are only #3 in the East with a 34-22 record…but they still have LeBron. He has made the NBA Finals in nearly every season since he was a young man. It’s hard to bet against him, but it is a little too early to tell how the newly re-built Cavs will play with each other.

Let’s look for a couple dark horse teams that could win the East. I’m eliminating the Wizards as I don’t see them as a viable threat. The Pacers, Sixers, Bucks and Pistons are true dark horse teams. The Indiana Pacers can hold their own against any small-ball team, but they struggle against teams with a true big (this is why the Pistons are included). Indiana has been dominated by Detroit a few times this season. The Philadelphia Sixers are young and talented, but very few players on the team have any playoff experience. It would be wise for the Sixers to add a buy-out guy with experience. The Milwaukee Bucks have Giannis and he’s difficult to stop. Also, let’s not discount the fairly recent addition of the returning Jabari Parker. He’s slowly getting minutes, but should be 100% by the playoffs. Lastly, let’s talk about the Pistons for a minute. They are built like an old school team with talented bigs, but they do have some playmakers on the wings. The Pistons are the darkest of horses, but if they can get into the playoffs and shock their first-round team, they could have a favorable path to the Finals. They also had to give up a lot of current talent to score Blake Griffin from the Clippers.

Western Conference Champions
Golden State Warriors – 4/11
Houston Rockets – 2/1
Oklahoma City Thunder – 15/1
San Antonio Spurs – 18/1
Minnesota T-Wolves – 33/1
Utah Jazz – 75/1
Denver Nuggets – 190/1
Portland Blazers – 190/1
Los Angeles Clippers – 450/1

Wow, picking a dark horse in the West is difficult. The top-four teams are really tough outs in the playoffs. The Warriors vs Rockets looks like a near-automatic Western Conference Finals match-up. The Thunder and Spurs are right there and both have the talent to challenge the Rockets and Warriors, but that would be a tough task.

If you forced me to pick a dark horse, I’d have to take the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would take the Spurs, but no one on the team can say if former Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard would be back this season. The T-Wolves would be a HUGE dark horse since their path to the Western Conference title would mean they would have to probably have to knock off both the Warriors and Rockets. Minnesota have a lot of young studs, but unlike the Sixers, some of their impact players have playoff experience. They have a nice mix of veterans paired with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.   

NBA Champions
Golden State Warriors – 5/9
Houston Rockets – 7/2
Cleveland Cavaliers – 6/1
Toronto Raptors – 22/1
Boston Celtics – 23/1
Oklahoma City Thunder – 40/1
San Antonio Spurs – 45/1
Minnesota T-Wolves – 70/1
Washington Wizards – 70/1
Milwaukee Bucks – 85/1
Philadelphia 76ers – 85/1
Utah Jazz – 150/1
Detroit Pistons – 250/1
Indiana Pacers – 250/1
Denver Nuggets – 400/1
Los Angeles Clippers – 400/1
Portland Blazers – 400/1
Miami Heat – 500/1
Charlotte Hornets – 1000/1

Since the Rockets, Warriors and Cavaliers are such big favorites, I’d consider any team under them to be dark horses. The team that escapes the West should be favored in the NBA Finals. They would have knocked off the one or two of the best teams in the NBA (Warriors & Rockets). You could also look at the West team could be beat the hell up from running that gauntlet.

I’m going to take the Boston Celtics or Oklahoma City Thunder here. The Celtics could have Gordon Hayward back by the playoffs. He could be a huge upgrade, but they would risk their big fiscal investment by bringing him back so soon. The Thunder has star power and Paul George has a lot of postseason experience from his time with the Pacers. Carmelo Anthony doesn’t have as much, but he won’t be the team’s first offensive weapon like on his past postseason teams. He won’t have nearly the same amount of pressure he had playing in New York.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.