Morning Coffee: Celtics emerge as championship favourite ahead of NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is here.

We are just hours away from the San Antonio Spurs selecting Victor Wembanyama with the first-overall pick.

While the exact order of the first three picks appears to be set, at least according to the odds at FanDuel, we learned last year to expect the unexpected.

As I highlighted in Wednesday’s column, we can anticipate several teams looking to shake things up via the trade route at some point today.

Last night, the Boston Celtics acquired Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal that sent Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies and Tyus Jones to the Washington Wizards.

Will we see some more notable names on the move in the association today? It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we see a couple of significant trades.

I also wouldn’t be surprised at all if the hometown Toronto Raptors are among the teams that make a significant move.

This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday, June 22, 2023.

Movement marks top of NBA Draft board

While Wembanyama to be the first-overall pick has always been considered a lock, the movement that we have seen at FanDuel over the past couple of days suggests that we can also expect Brandon Miller to go second overall and Scoot Henderson to go third.

Miller opened +210 to be the second overall pick at FanDuel. He was +175 to go second overall three days ago.

Miller is currently -700 to go second overall at FanDuel. That number represents an 87.5 per cent implied probability.

Meanwhile, Henderson opened -360 to be the second-overall pick. He was -260 to go second overall three days ago.

Henderson is currently +360 to be selected with the No. 2 overall pick at FanDuel. He’s the favourite to be the third-overall pick at -480.

As we learned last year, that movement reflects the sentiment in the market, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a lock to happen.

Paolo Banchero could be found as high as +900 to be the first-overall pick on draft day last year. He closed as the betting favourite at -210 and was ultimately selected first by the Orlando Magic.

The reports that the Hornets are focused on selecting Miller with the second pick led to the direct shifts that we have seen in the betting markets.

Still, a lot can change in the coming hours. Let’s see what happens tonight.

Celtics now NBA Championship favourite

After falling short in each of the past two postseasons, it was inevitable that the Celtics would look to shake things up this off-season.

They did exactly that last night with the acquisition of Porzingis in a three-team trade.

Porzingis immediately upgrades a significant need for Boston with his ability to score off a post-up, shoot the three, and defend at a high level.

He’s the only player in NBA history to average at least two three-pointers and 1.5 blocks in multiple seasons.

How did the traders at FanDuel react to Smart getting swapped out for Porzingis?

The Celtics are now the favourite to win the NBA title at +500 odds at FanDuel.

A FanDuel Best Bet for Thursday night

Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds delivered for us again on Wednesday afternoon.

De La Cruz went 2-for-4 and the Reds rallied from down three runs to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 and push their win streak to 11 in a row.

That was enough to cash the FanDuel Best Bet in Morning Coffee with De La Cruz to record a hit and Cincinnati to win at -128 odds.

The Reds are off today ahead of a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves that begins on Friday.

The Braves have won seven in a row, setting the stage for what should be an epic series in Cincinnati.

In the meantime, we are looking to string together back-to-back winners with our first NRFI bet of the week this morning.

AL Cy Young award favourite Shane McClanahan is 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA this season.

We can’t bet the Rays as a -390 ML favourite at FanDuel, but we can hope that McClanahan can give us the three outs we need in the first inning to hold up his end of the NRFI bet.

On the flip side, it will be a bullpen game for the Royals, with Jose Cuas opening for Kansas City.

Cuas has given up just one run in his past nine appearances.

I’m hoping he can get through three outs without giving up a run in the first inning tonight.

I’ll lock in the No Run First Inning in tonight’s game between the Royals and Rays as my FanDuel Best Bet.