MVP Race: Jokic and Doncic Steer NBA with Sturdy Shows
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:02 So Donnie, let's continue to look around the association as it comes to some of
00:07 those changing numbers.
00:08 Opening night MVP award odds to where they are now.
00:12 We just talked about it.
00:14 Nikoli Okic, a 34 point triple double last night.
00:17 His Denver Nuggets are 7 and 1.
00:19 They have the best mark in the NBA through the first two weeks.
00:23 The Joker was plus 430 as the NBA MVP front runner entering the season.
00:28 Take nearly a dollar and a half off that price right now.
00:31 Yokich, Donnie, 3 to 1, the favorite to win the most valuable player award.
00:35 >> And I think they're lining up correctly now.
00:37 So you take a look at, let's just say, 1, 2, 3, and 4, right?
00:40 You take a look at Yokich, Doncic, and Bede, and Tatum here.
00:43 I'll leave Steph Curry out there, we'll see.
00:45 But the premise for me is, who's the lead dog here on the Denver Nuggets?
00:48 It's by far Nikoli Yokich.
00:50 He's the center of the universe for that franchise here.
00:52 Everything runs through him and completely that entire offense,
00:56 which is great for him.
00:57 There's a lot of good moving parts around him, but
00:59 he's the centerpiece that's gonna be the lead dog.
01:01 Take a look at Luka Doncic.
01:02 I love Kyrie on that basketball team.
01:04 That's gonna help them and maybe win a few series come the playoff time.
01:08 But everything centers around Luka Doncic here.
01:10 Rebounds, points, assists, he's the main man.
01:13 I talk about the same thing with Joel Embiid.
01:14 A reinvigorated Joel Embiid coming off of an MVP season,
01:18 where you know he wasn't happy.
01:19 He was good friends there with James Harden, wanted it to work out, and
01:21 it didn't, and they didn't really replace him.
01:23 They got a couple bench guys.
01:25 Well, you can't tell from the opening to the season where Joel Embiid looks like,
01:27 yeah, I'm gonna take maintenance days and sit this one out.
01:30 As I was joking before the season, hey,
01:31 if Harden probably thought it was the right thing to do.
01:33 Don't waste Joel Embiid this season because you're not gonna win anything.
01:36 He looks great in that Nick Nurse system.
01:38 Now getting to Jason Tatum, there's a lot of cooks in that kitchen.
01:41 There's Jalen Brown, there's Chris Stapps Porzingis.
01:43 Yes, he's the best player there.
01:44 But the reason to bring it up for those first three guys is,
01:47 they are the franchise.
01:49 They are the centerpiece to the on-court game, both offensively and
01:53 defensively for the respective teams here.
01:55 That's why they're gonna get the bump here.
01:56 It's gonna be hard for Steph Curry and SGA, Tatum, to win that.
01:59 Why?
02:00 I don't think they're gonna get as many opportunities as Djokic, Doncic, and
02:03 Embiid will be.
02:04 >> And when you look at those NBA standings as well,
02:08 you can correlate some individual success to team success.
02:11 It's not as important in the MVP award race, but the Mavericks are six and one.
02:17 The Nuggets are seven and one.
02:18 Of course, the Celtics were the last remaining undefeated team in the NBA at
02:22 five and one now.
02:24 And the Sixers have won five straight, and they're five and one as well.
02:28 Giannis and the Bucks have moved all the way back.
02:31 They're four and two, but Giannis' price at 20 to one,
02:34 it was plus 600 entering this year.
02:37 Donnie, I think there is an argument to be made right now that Nikola Jokic and
02:41 Luka Doncic should still get your numbers and your bets at this moment.
02:46 Jokic already has three triple doubles in the eight games the Nuggets have played.
02:50 He's been one assist shy in two others.
02:53 Luka has scored 33 or more in four of the seven games for Dallas.
02:58 He also has two triple doubles already this season.
03:01 The stat performances are going to be there for both of those guys,
03:05 leading their teams to a very strong start to this season.
03:09 [MUSIC]