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Defensive Player of the Year: Bam Adebayo (+700)
“I should have won it the last two years, and I will win it this year,” -- Bam Adebayo this offseason on not winning DPOY to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The Miami Heat center has been an anchor down low for Miami since becoming a full-time starter in 2019-20. However, Adebayo has only played 56 and 64 games in the two years prior, certainly factoring into the voters decision to award Rudy Gobert and Marcus Smart instead.
Adebayo has combined for at least 2.0 steals and blocks per game for the past three seasons and finished last year with a 104.9 defensive rating, holding his opponents to a 44.4% field goal percentage.
Miami as a team allowed the fourth-fewest points per game (105.6) and owned an impressive 44.7% allowed from the field (5th) with 33.9% from three (T-1st). Adebayo as the best defender on arguably the best defensive team can go a long way.
There could be voter fatigue with Giannis Antetokounmpo (+400) and Rudy Gobert (+1000). Factor in Robert Williams’ injury (+800) and Draymond Green being on the decline, Adebayo is the clearly the best choice.
I grabbed Adebayo at +700 odds on FanDuel and love the chance he closes as the favorite by the end of October.
Pick: Bam Adebyao (1u)
Sixth Man of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon (+1600)
We nailed Tyler Herro at +2000 last year and while it’s tempting to run it back on Herro, only three players have repeated as sixth man of the year (Lou Williams, Detlef Schrempf and Kevin McHale).
So, we pivot to the Celtics. Boston’s roster is stacked and that leaves Malcolm Brogdon coming off the bench behind the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (Marcus Smart).
Brogdon is no slouch on the defensive end himself and averaged 19.1 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds over 35.5 minutes in an injury-riddle season with the Pacers.
Entering 2022 and much healthier, Brogdon could have a chance to replace Derrick White in the starting lineup at times throughout the season, which is fine because Herro started 10 out of 66 games last year and that probably helped him in the race for sixth man.
Behind Smart, White and Brogdon is Payton Pritchard and JD Davison, so Brogdon will play a crucial role with this Celtics squad as an experienced veteran.
Brogdon is +1600 on FanDuel compared to +1100 on DraftKings and BetMGM.
Brogdon’s main competitors for this award will be Herro, Jordan Poole (Warriors) and Norman Powell (Clippers).
Pick: Malcolm Brogdon (0.25u)
Most Improved Player: Tyrese Maxey (+1200), Anthony Edwards (+850)
This one is tough because I couldn’t decide between who I like more between Tyrese Maxey and Anthony Edwards.
So, how about both? We will split a 0.5 unit on the two players because both guys should take a leap in scoring this season and likely land on an All-Star team.
Maxey is around +1100 and +1200 on every book for this award and Edwards’ odds have dropped from +1100 to +850 pretty much everywhere within two days of the season starting.
With Minnesota acquiring Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves are now one of the favorites in the Western Conference and tagged at -300 to make the postseason.
Edwards averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He averaged 19.3 ppg in his rookie season.
If Edwards averages 25-plus ppg this year, it will be hard not to give Ant-Man this award with his teams anticipated success.
Philadelphia returns a loaded roster and picked up P.J. Tucker, so Maxey will have more offensive freedom in a full-year with James Harden, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris.
Maxey averaged 6.0 points per game his rookie season over 15.3 minutes in eight starts and 61 games played. Maxey jumped to 17.5 points per game in his sophomore season over 74 starts and 76 games played.
The former Kentucky guard will need 20-plus points per game to win this award but with 4.3 assists per game and 42.7% from deep last year, I love the growth and offensive potential in the 76ers offense.
I played both Maxey at +1200 odds and Edwards at +850 for Most Improved Player for 0.25 units each.
Pick: Tyrese Maxey (0.25u), Anthony Edwards (0.25u)
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