The Memphis Grizzlies will resume the 2019-20 season on July 31 against the Portland Trail Blazers at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
The Grizzlies are one of 22 teams that will be involved at The Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, competing in eight “seeding games” to determine the participants and order for the 2020 NBA Playoffs. At FanDuel Sportsbook, they are +21000 to win the title. The Milwaukee Bucks are the favorites at +240.
Tennessee legalized sports wagering in 2019, but the sportsbooks aren’t expected to launch until later in the year. September is the likely month, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it come in October.
It’s a missed opportunity for Tennessee, but better late than never.
Ja Morant massive favorite to win ROY
Earlier in the season, it was competitive for the Rookie of the Year award. Not anymore.
Ja Morant of the Grizzlies is a whopping -3000 favorite at FanDuel. Zion Williamson is +900. Those are the only two players you can wager on.
Morant has averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game. Williamson has averaged 23.6, 6.8, and 2.2, respectively, but he has played in only 19 games. Morant has played in 59.
Morant opened the season at +400 at FanDuel, compared to -150 for Williamson. Sports bettors who got Morant at +400 must be feeling pretty satisfied right now. It doesn’t appear that Williamson, who is looking super prepared for the restart, has enough time left to catch Morant. The disparity in the odds is even greater at BetMGM, where Morant is -5000 and Williamson is +1200.
"Zion used the time off to shed 25 pounds of pure fat and put on 10 pounds of lean, explosive, dynamic muscle" pic.twitter.com/s8NaNtIas0
— Mark Titus (@clubtrillion) July 2, 2020
It’s hard to justify a bet on Morant at such a price, but you could argue it’s free money. Williamson’s odds are definitely not long enough to take a flier. The fact that he isn’t a more significant underdog probably speaks to how big of a name he is and how good he is going to be.
At any rate, it’s unfortunate Tennessee didn’t have sportsbooks for Morant’s impressive rookie campaign.
