NBA betting, odds: Bettors excited to take the over on Kevin Durant's points in return
Kevin Durant hasn't played basketball in almost two months. Durant is also one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen.
Bettors are focusing on the latter.
Durant will make his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night, and one of the more anticipated experiments in the NBA this season will get off the ground. The Suns are absolutely loaded, and have the second-best odds to win the NBA title at BetMGM. The Suns are +450 to win the championship.
Durant returns from a knee injury on Wednesday night, and most bettors aren't worried about rust.
Will Kevin Durant score over 20.5 points?
At BetMGM, Durant's prop total for points against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night is 20.5. And 82% of bets are on the over.
That number rose to 86% of bets and 92% of money on the over by early Wednesday afternoon.
Most of Durant's totals are pretty high for a player who hasn't been on a court since Jan. 8.
Kevin Durant makes his Suns debut tonight against the Hornets 🌞
Here are some of his props 👇
- O/U 20.5 PTS
- O/U 5.5 REB
- O/U 3.5 AST
- O/U 1.5 3PM
- O/U 29.5 PTS+AST+REB pic.twitter.com/lWrdpD3Vi3— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 1, 2023
The over bets are even riskier, considering Durant will be on a minutes restriction, per coach Monty Williams.
On the other hand, Durant gets 21 points in his sleep. He scored at least 23 points in 35 of 39 games this season with the Brooklyn Nets. One of the four games in which he failed to reach 21 points was the game against the Miami Heat on Jan. 8 in which he injured his knee and exited early.
Setting a line for Durant's props, and betting either side of them, is an odd situation. He's undeniably great and if it was a normal game in a healthy season, the amount of over 20.5 points bets would be closer to 100%. You won't find a line that low on Durant practically ever, so some bettors are taking advantage, not concerning themselves with a minutes restriction, how Durant will fit in during his first game on a new team or any rust from nearly two months off.
Just another reason to tune into Durant's anticipated Suns debut.