LATE MAIL
HE IS a big man with a big presence, and Australian basketball superstar Andrew Bogut will make his longawaited and much-hyped NBL debut with the Sydney Kings tomorrow night.
The NBA championship-winner, No. 1 draft pick and three-time Olympian has generated unprecedented buzz around the start of the NBL season following his decision to return home to Australia, and his Kings will face the Adelaide 36ers in a blockbuster at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.
The Kings have been the rage with Ladbrokes punters all preseason and they shortened into $2.75 in championship betting following their impressive performance against the Los Angeles Clippers in Hawaii. Ladbrokes Basketball bookmaker Ken Boldt expects the Kings to shorten further. “The key here is if Andrew Bogut can stay healthy,” Boldt said. “If he can see the season out and the star-studded roster can get along they will win the title. They also look to have changed their offence. “They have abandoned the outdated Lindsay Gaze shuffle offence, and Andrew Gaze looks to have replaced it with NBA offensive sets that Bogut used with the Golden State Warriors.”
The 36ers won the NBL Blitz tournament and Adelaide coach Joey Wright will have his squad primed to spring an upset. Boldt believes that no coach is under more pressure than the Bullets’ Andrej Lemanis. “Brisbane are our favourites to be wooden spooners again,’’ he said. “It’s certainly time to ask when enough is enough of coach Andrej Lemanis, who has failed to deliver anything besides wooden spoons in his two previous seasons.”
RUGBY LEAGUE
THERE is plenty of interest in next weekend’s historic Test between Australia and Tonga, but the Kangaroos must first face New Zealand this weekend.
This is a new-look Australian outfit without long-time regulars such as Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and the suspended Greg Inglis. The halves combination of Luke Keary and Daly Cherry-Evans is untested but Australia are still set to start as clear $1.38 favourites.
New Zealand have been boosted by the return of Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor from suspension and there are plenty of game-breakers in their in-form backline.
That has not impressed punters though, and the Kiwis have been almost friendless at their current odds of $3.15. Ladbrokes already have a market available for the Test between Australia and Tonga, and it is the Kangaroos that are favourites at $1.30 from Tonga at $3.50.
NFL
FIVE weeks in and two teams remain undefeated.
Both the Rams and Chiefs faced their biggest tests last week and passed. The Rams firmed yet again as the Super Bowl favourite and they are now into $4.25, but the perennially successful Patriots are coming. After back-to-back wins, they are now $7 and the most favoured of the AFC teams, ahead of the Chiefs at $8. The Saints were the big mover after Week 5.
Drew Brees took the all-time passing yards record from Peyton Manning with a clinical performance against Washington on the Monday night stage and, in turn, fired a warning shot across the bows of their NFC rivals.
The Saints look the Rams’ biggest threat to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIII. They are now also at single figure odds ($9) after five weeks.
MLB
ONLY four teams are left in World Series contention and the betting market with Ladbrokes suggests that all of them are genuine chances of claiming the title.
The Houston Astros are currently on top of betting and they are $2.88 to become the first side since the New York Yankees in 2000 to win the World Series in back-to-back years.
Standing in their way in the American League Championship Series is the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox are on the second line of betting at $3.25. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will battle in the National League Championship Series and it is the Dodgers that are narrow favourites to eliminate their rivals.
$4 is available for a LA World Series win, while the Brewers aren’t far behind at $5.
The Brewers are chasing their first ever championship and they made their only World Series appearance in 1982.
A-LEAGUE
THE A-League preseason has been dominated by Usain Bolt, and the Jamaican’s stint with the Central Coast Mariners has driven genuine betting interest. The Mariners are $21 to claim a second A-League Championship, but they have actually been the best-backed side with Ladbrokes and punters believe they can be the big improvers.
Sydney FC opened at $4 when the market went up in May, but they have drifted out to $5 and are locked in a battle for favouritism with reigning premiers Melbourne Victory. The Victory opened at $5.50 and they are in to $5 following their signing of Japanese superstar Keisuke Honda. Last year’s runners up the Newcastle Jets have drifted from $7 to $9 and they are now behind Melbourne City ($6), Perth Glory ($7) and Western Sydney Wanderers ($8) in betting.
The Brisbane Roar have shown promise in their pre-season matches and are now into $11, while Adelaide United ($12) and the Wellington Phoenix ($34) have been friendless in early betting.