Ben Simmons hit a milestone on Tuesday night, though he wasn't exactly thrilled with it. The Philly wing hit his first career 3-pointer in the 76ers' preseason game:
In reality, it wasn't that big of a deal; Simmons has been taking and making them in training camp. But, of course, the internet did what the internet does:
Ben Simmons hitting a 3 with Titanic music cannot be beat: pic.twitter.com/ecqV5m65iD
— Nightmare Ninja 👻 (@NinjaScottSZN) October 9, 2019
And a good time was had by all.
However, there was a ripple effect. There was a flood of action on Simmons' MVP odds at PointsBet last night: In fact, he's now their biggest liability for MVP futures, and they moved his odds from 100-1 to 80-1 overnight.
Odds as of Wednesday afternoon and via PointsBet, where Action Network users get an exclusive 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).
What's more, representatives from FanDuel informed The Action Network Wednesday that Simmons is also their biggest liability for MVP. He opened at 150-1, and FanDuel has had to move him all the way down in increments to 41-1, which is where it stands now.
The action seems centralized on the East Coast and Pennsylvania in particular; Westgate Las Vegas told The Action Network they have a total of $70 on Simmons as of Wednesday afternoon.
There are no known big-money bets on Simmons, but it's interesting that he's now the biggest liability at two books.
Simmons is a longshot for a reason; Joel Embiid has much better value (12-1 at PointsBet, 16-1 at FanDuel), given his role and importance to the Sixers. Simmons does seem headed for a huge season, however. He showed out better than expected given his jumper limitations in the playoffs, and has only gotten smarter, stronger and faster.
Simmons should have a monster season, but he'd have to hit a lot more 3-pointers to jump into the MVP race, or vault to being the best passer and/or defender in the league.
We'll have more on the best NBA futures to bet before the season next week.
