MVP

The odds according to Sportsbook.com for Chris Paul to win the MVP is 25-1. Okay, looking further into the other odds I see Baron Davis' name. Guess what the odds are for Baron to win MVP? 60-1. Are you serious? Chris Paul has more than a 2x greater chance to win MVP than Baron? Wow. To put this in perspective, the odds for Mike Bibby to win MVP is ALSO 60-1. Mike Freakin Bibby. No respect at all. I understand Baron has an injury-prone track record blah blah blah, but still. The same odds as Mike Bibby?

I'm starting to think that Chris Paul is overrated. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but 25-1 when Baron is at 60-1? They might as well give him the cover of NBA 2k8 or something. Oh wait, they already did.

Possible Wagers

I don't usually like placing "future" bets just because it isn't a same-day payout. I would have to wait all year to win or lose my money. However, the Over/Under for team wins has been posted and here are some of the lines that interest me.

Washington Wizards O/U 39.5
At first when I saw this I thought over for sure. They won 41 games last year, but were hit by injuries to Caron Butler and Arenas late in the season. Arenas seems to be healthy after his knee surgery so I would think that they would be poised for at least a .500 season right? I would think so, not to mention that both Arenas and Jamison are in contract years. The Eastern Conference has gotten a little bit better though with KG switching conferences along with other teams getting some new key pieces like Rashard Lewis in Orlando and my boy J-Rich in Charlotte.

Los Angeles Lakers O/U 44.5
The Western Conference is only getting stronger and they haven't done anything to improve their roster coming off their 42 win campaign, although Smush Parker leaving could be seen as addition by subtraction. They were killed with injuries last year, but I don't really think Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown being healthy for a whole year will affect much. Lamar Odom, well he's Odom. If this year is anything like the last couple years, he'll play well when healthy, but will miss a significant portion of the season. Although I hate the Lakers and don't think they're going to win 45 games, it's hard for me to bet against Kobe.

New Orleans Hornets O/U 37.5
A healthy Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic with David West and Tyson Chandler seems like a team that has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and I don't see the 8th seed being any lower than .500. They were also on a ridiculous run last year fighting for the last playoff spot with the Clippers and Warriors. Will the success carry over?

Seattle Sonics O/U 27.5
I told my dad the other day that I don't see Seattle winning much more than 20 games this year so when I saw the Over/Under of 27.5, it caught my eye. The team, to say the least is garbage. My guess is that there starting lineup will look like this:

PG: Luke Ridnour
SG: Kevin Durant
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Chris Wilcox
C: Robert Swift

...with Earl Watson, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and Nick Collison being their main bench players. To me, especially in the Western Conference, I don't see how that roster can win 28 games. Even with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis they only won 31 games. Memphis is better, the Kings (unfortunately) will probably be better, and Portland will be better. With the exception of Minnesota, there won't be any easy nights in the Western Conference for Seattle. Under 28 wins, book it.

What do you guys think about these lines? Should I put some money on any of these?

Edit: I just read John Hollinger's prediciton on ESPN.com for the Wizards and he has them at 33 wins and the Sonics at 35 wins. He also added, "If [the Sonics} get really lucky in close games, they might even slip into the No. 8 spot." Wow, I just lost all respect for his opinions. Get lucky and make the playoffs? I guess if getting lucky consists of Baron Davis getting killed by a Stephen Jackson bullet, Kobe deciding to have sex with more white girls and gets thrown in the slammer, and Chris Paul's career being over because he has gone blind from playing too much of his 2k8 game, then MAYBE they have an OUTSIDE shot at making the playoffs. I guess they let anybody write for ESPN nowadays.