Once upon a time, Steph Curry’s ankles were so injury-prone that he took one of the steepest contract discounts in NBA history … just in case. Last season, a knee injury contributed to him playing just 51 games after going 78-78-80-79-79 in the previous five seasons.
This season? His over/under for games played is 69.5. And if you are the type of NBA fan who gambles on player availability, there are prop bets that are going to interest you.
Games played over/unders have been posted for Curry, Lonzo Ball, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Blake Griffin heading into the 2018-19 season.
But beware: You start making wagers on whether or not guys will get injured, and a woman named Karma will come knocking.
You’ve heard what they say about her, correct? Rhymes with witch.
Let’s start with Curry, whose Golden State Warriors are prohibitive favorites to win another NBA title. He logged light minutes in five preseason games, sitting out the final three quarters of the last one (against the Lakers) with an illness. His over/under for games played is 69.5, and there also is a prop bet on whether teammate Klay Thompson will be playing for the Lakers on Opening Night in 2019. (The line is +510, meaning wager $100 to win $510.)
Make that bet, and let me know via Twitter where you are getting your intel. I happen to be in the camp that believes what is said by dad Mychal.
Curry is currently 17-1 to lead the league in scoring — something be did routinely back before Kevin Durant arrived, but not so much anymore. (Durant is also 17-1 to finish atop the NBA leaderboard in points per game). Curry has never played 82 games, but he has played 80 twice, 79 twice and 78 twice.
Next we have Lonzo Ball, from the NBA’s most stable family not named Kardashian. The jury is still out on whether Luke Walton will start him ahead of Rojon Rondo, and that decision will likely be a work in progress that evolves according to how each of them work with LeBron James.
Rondo is on a one-year deal and has been killing it in assists per 48 minutes, and LeBron tends to thrive (at least in the playoffs) with guys who have been around the block a few times.
Ball, entering his third season, had surgery in June to repair a torn meniscus. He appeared in just two postseason games, both against Golden State. This bet is off the board in Lithuania.
You may remember that a sprained ankle kept Chris Paul out of the Rockets’ final two postseason games against Golden State in the Western Conference finals, and James Harden shared the rock in the first half of Game 6 and the first half of Game 7 before trying to do everything by himself in the second half of both of those games.
CP3 played in all five of Houston’s preseason games and nearly logged a triple-double in one of them. His over/under for games played is 66 1/2. He has played all 82 games just once in 13 years, and his games played totals for the past two seasons are 58 and 61.
Next we have Kyrie Irving, who either wants to be a Celtic for life or a member of the New York Knicks, depending on which way the wind is blowing and who is interpreting his quotes.
He sat out Boston’s final two games with a rib injury. In seven NBA seasons he has never played more than 75 games. His over/under is 64 1/2, and Knicks fans can take a flyer on his playing at Madison Square Garden a year from now. That prop bet is +360.
Finally, we have Griffin, who used to be relevant in the nation’s second-largest media market. He will be doing his thing in The D this season for the Pistons, but his days of appearing in car commercials on every single national TV broadcast are likely behind him.
Griffin will be playing for a coach, Duane Casey, who routinely went 11 deep last season with the Raptors. If he does the same with the Pistons, that could enhance Griffin’s durability. His games played totals from the last four seasons: 58, 61, 35, 67. His over/under is 50.5.
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