The 2016-17 NBA season tips off Tuesday evening, with the Golden State Warriors hosting the San Antonio Spurs. It is a big change this time around for both teams. The Warriors have added Kevin Durant, while the Spurs saw Tim Duncan retire. It’s a new era for the Spurs, while the Warriors are looking to build on last year’s ridiculous regular season.
A year ago, I worked with Bovada to create a prop bet regarding 49ers losses vs. Warriors losses. The bet was who would have more losses, the 49ers or Warriors. You could have had the 49ers at +200 (bet $100 to win $200), or the Warriors at -300 (bet $300 to win $100). The 49ers ended up with more losses, so congrats if you got a wager in!
A year later, the Warriors are sizable favorites to win the NBA title. The Cleveland Cavaliers are second in Finals’ odds, and most people expect a rematch from last year’s NBA Finals. The Warriors send out a ridiculous lineup that will include Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Zaza Pachulia. They’ve got strong depth off the bench, and it is hard to not see them as a title favorite.
So now, we return to last year’s question (just without the prop bet this time around). Who will lose more games? The 49ers are 1-6, and will almost assuredly finish with double digit losses. They have a handful of winnable games remaining on the schedule, including games against the Dolphins, Rams, Bears, and Jets. Even if they win all four of those, they would be looking at a 5-11 record. My guess is they finish at around 3-13.
On the other side of the coin you’ve got the warriors, coming off a 73-9 regular season record last year. Las Vegas has set their win total wager at 66.5 points. Going over would mean 67-15 or better. So, to some extent, do you think the Warriors go over their win total in 2016-17? They have the talent to do it, but I wonder if we see the stars getting even more rest than last year? They came up short in the title run, so maybe they decide to take it easy as much as possible and just get ready for the playoffs.
Of course, with all this talent, maybe they can still get the wins thanks to big early leads, and a solid bench. The fun bet is on the 49ers losing more games and rooting for more Dubs victories!
Feel free to use this as an open thread for the start of the NBA season, as well as Game 1 of the World Series. Quite a night!