The Bear Bets Breakdown: Group Chat’s Picks for Kentucky, NBA and MLB Futures
Bear Bets are back!
This week, the digital gambling program on FOX Sports made a comeback to examine all the hot-button issues in the sports world.
The Group Chat also reopened with Chris “The Bear” Fallica, Geoff Schwartz, Sam Panayotovich, and Will Hill joining to talk about their preferred Masters wagers as well as futures bets on college basketball, the NBA, and MLB. This week’s podcast has the gang’s thoughts on the Masters; you can read it here, or you can read “The Bear’s” recommended wagers for the competition.
Now let us place their wagers!
John Calipari moved to Arkansas from Kentucky. Which coach do you think has the best chance of getting the job?
Scott Drew, The Bear
“Dan Hurley can be scrapped. Dan Hurley will not be visiting Kentucky. That is a very bad wager. In the NIL world, would Billy Donovan leave the Chicago Bulls to return to college? Who knows? Mark Pope enjoys a great deal of respect. BYU basketball is a lot of pleasure to watch. I believe we can probably cross Rick Pitino and his kid off the list. Does not that make Scott Drew the favorite through elimination?”
Hill: Scott Drew
“Jay Wright and Rick Pitino are mentioned frequently. Jay Wright probably will not be a coach again. Pitino seems too elderly to me. What is your next Calipari, please? Whatever you may think of his time, Calipari provided you 15 years in which you were consistently a contender. He was a steal of a hire when he was brought in, bringing in NBA talent. That same guy does not always check both of those boxes. However, Drew fulfills the requirements of being a young enough person and a title winner.”
As the odds for the NCAA championship next year came out, are there any bets you would like to place?
Sammy P: Gonzaga to win the national title
“After the tournament the previous year, UConn was up 20 to 1. Four starters from Gonzaga are returning, and their odds are 30-to-1. It is Graham Ike again. It is Ben Gregg again. Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman are back in the backcourt. Mark Few will likely add one or two transfers in addition to some quality new signings. Gonzaga at 30-to-1 isn’t, in my opinion, the worst wager in the middle of April.”
Do you have any late picks for the NBA regular season award winners?
“The Sixth Man of the Year Award with Malik Monk being out now, but he’s favored. Naz Reid is the second choice, and he’s at plus money. It seems like there might be an opportunity there for Reid at plus money.”
Victor Wembanyama will prevail, says The Bear Player of the Year for Defense
“We get it, the Timberwolves are a great defensive team. They got Kyle Anderson, Reid, Mike Conley and other great players around him. As a team, they’re the best defensive team. … If you look at Wembanyama, he’s got 332 blocks and steals while playing 29.6 minutes per game. Rudy Gobert’s got 196 blocks and steals while playing 34 minutes per game. Defensive rebounding percentage, Wembanyama is at 27.5 and Gobert is at 25. There are no individual stats that support Gobert winning the award.”
Do you have any favorite NBA futures wagers for the postseason?
Sammy P: Celtics to win the Eastern Conference (-140)
“You’re not going to get your flowers for saying -140 on Boston, but if those guys stay healthy, man. If Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are all healthy, that is maybe the most talented team in the league. … This is the super team in the East right now and in a hobbled East with a bunch of bad teams.”
And last, at this stage of the season, are there any baseball futures you like?
Sammy P: White Sox to finish with the league’s worst record (+230)
“This White Sox team is pathetic, and when we did the show last week, they were +340 to be the worst team in the league. They had 16 runs in their nine games. Nine! They can’t hit, they can’t run, they can’t throw.”
The Bear: Marlins will end with the worst record in the league (+2500).
“The Marlins are sneaky because you’re talking about a team that has no healthy arms. … The Marlins could be really, really bad. They won all those 1-run games last year and they kind of lucked into a lot of those. It seems like the bill is coming due.”