Sportsbook Handicappers Note Memphis & Minnesota Signings. The CFL regular season begins on Thursday and odds are up at the sportsbook for the Week 1 games. Handicappers at the sportsbook noted that the Memphis Grizzlies re-signed their best player on Thursday, inking Rudy Gay to a big five-year deal. Gay is expected to earn more than $13 million per season for the Grizzlies. Also on Thursday, Minnesota made a move that puzzled sportsbook online gamblers as they signed Darko Miliic to a $20 million dollar deal.
The chances of the Grizzlies winning next season are a lot better than the chances for the Timberwolves. Memphis has a talented young roster led by Gay who averaged 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Memphis nearly had a winning record this past season as they finished 40-42. They were 39-41-2 against the point spread. The Grizzlies actually finished above New Orleans last season in the Southwest Division. Zach Randolph led them in scoring with 20.8 points per game but Gay was their best player. The Grizzlies were pretty good on offense last season as they averaged 102.5 points per game, good for 7th in the league. The problem for Memphis was a defense that was 24th in the league, allowing 104 points per game.
While the Grizzlies made a good move, the Minnesota Timberwolves did not. It is easy to see why Minnesota has not won since trading away Kevin Garnett. The team threw away $20 million dollars as they signed Darko Milicic to a four-year deal. It is just mind boggling that Minnesota would throw so much money away on a player that considered retiring in February. Milicic was acquired by Minnesota back in February and he averaged 11 points and five rebounds in the last two months of the season. The team also signed second round pick Nikola Pekovic to a four-year $13 million dollar deal.
Minnesota was not very good last season as they went 15-67. They were not that great against the point spread either as they went 37-44-1. Al Jefferson led the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game. The team was 20th in the league on offense as they averaged 98.2 points per game. Their defense was poor, allowing 107.8 points per game, 29th in the league.
The signing of Milicic means that Minnesota is pretty much out of the free agent market unless they decide to put Al Jefferson on the market. The signing also means that Minnesota is likely to struggle for years to come.