Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is no longer the NBA online betting odds-on favorite to win the rookie of the year word. Nonetheless, Philly fans who enjoy betting on NBA games should not lose heart. Embiid’s teammate power forward Dario Saric is now next line for the honor. The Sixers announced in late February that Embiid would miss the rest of the season with torn meniscus in his left knee. The Cameroonian was drafted in 2014 but missed what would have been his first two seasons because of a nagging a broken navicular bone. Let’s just hope his struggles with injuries have not left him Embiidered.
NBA rookie of the year candidates
Dario Saric
Unlike Embiid, the Croatian has not missed a single game this regular season. He is averaging 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game – leading all rookies in the first two categories, and ranking 5th in the third. Sixers head coach Brett Brown has been giving Saric more minutes and he has been making the most of the extra time, averaging 19.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.o assists in the last ten games. Saric was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in February. Last night, Saric had a season-high 28 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, even though Philly would go on to lose in overtime.
Joel Embiid
We said Embiid is no longer the NBA online betting odds-on favorite to win the rookie of the year word. Notwithstanding that, he is still in the running, which is a testament to a season that had him on the fast track to rookie-of-the-yeardom before it was dramatically albeit not necessarily unexpectedly cut short. The Process was averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.5 blocks prior to bowing out. If the 2016-17 season – and not just his season – ended today Embiid’d be ROTY hands down. However, by the time April 12 rolls around he will have missed 51 regular season games.
Malcolm Brogdon
The Milwaukee Bucks guard is what people who are fond of betting on NBA games call a dark horse. Brogdon has been a much needed shot in the arm for the Bucks, whose gameplay is noticeably better thanks to him – especially in the wake of Jabari Parker’s torn meniscus. Brogdon he scored a career-high 22 points in early January, but averages 9.9 points per game overall. No rookie of the year has averaged fewer than 11 points per game in the modern NBA era. Therefore, barring a scoring spree, Brogdon won’t be able to wrest the trophy away from Saric.
Other NBA online betting odds ROTY candidates include Phoenix Suns power forward Marquese Chriss and Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield. Chriss is averaging 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Hield is posting 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. However, both are in there more to round up the field than anything else, and their NBA online betting odds of winning rookie of the year are slim to none.