For all the unpredictability leading into the NBA Draft, last night’s event didn’t feature many notable surprises at the top of the board.

At least that’s true for the first three picks, which played out exactly the way that the betting markets indicated they would.

With the latest remote draft now out of the way, basketball fans can officially begin the countdown to the 2020-21 season, which is just over a month away.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Thursday Nov. 19, 2020.

 

Thursday Night Football Spotlight

 

I’ll have more on the draft in a moment.

First, let’s talk about the most highly anticipated Thursday Night Football showdown of the season so far.

The Seattle Seahawks are -3 at home for their NFC West clash with the Arizona Cardinals.

The last time these teams met back in Week 7, it was the Cardinals that rallied back to win 37-34 in overtime at home in one of the wildest games of the year.

This time around, the Cardinals are on the road but still getting a field goal.

That is notable because Arizona is 12-4-2 ATS in its past 18 games as an underdog dating back to last season.

On the flip side, Seattle is 18-3 straight up in home prime-time games since they drafted Russell Wilson back in 2012.

The total for this game is set at 57.5, which is the highest number on the board for Week 11.

With the Cardinals, Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in a three-way tie for the best record in the NFC West at 6-3 entering the final stretch, this showdown has all of the makings of a classic.

 

The NBA Draft Big Three

 

There wasn’t a consensus top pick entering last night’s draft, but Georgia guard Anthony Edwards was the betting favourite to go first overall at -130 odds.

Edwards and LaMelo Ball had switched in and out of that distinction in the weeks leading up to the draft, but it was Edwards who moved back into that role on Tuesday and remained the favourite until he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the top pick last night.

While it appeared for the longest time as if the Timberwolves would choose between Edwards and Ball at No. 1, Memphis centre James Wiseman was actually the betting favourite to go second overall at -140 odds.

Wiseman was selected second overall by the Golden State Warriors. The pick came just hours after reports that Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson had suffered an injury.

Thompson, who missed all of 2019-20 with a torn ACL, is scheduled to have an MRI this morning. The pick that created the most buzz last night was Ball to the Charlotte Hornets at third overall.

Fans were quick to jump on the idea of LaVar Ball and Michael Jordan finally getting together for a little one-on-one.

I’ll be the first to admit I would love to see it.