NFL Futures Bets to Lock in NOW & NBA All-Star Predictions

The NFL season may be over, but you don’t need to stop betting on football. Let’s take a ridiculously early look at Super Bowl 59 odds. Where can we find value?

Dive in for more NFL Futures, NBA All-Star Game lines and so much more from around the sports world. 

IN THIS EDITION OF BACK OFFICE BUZZ

• WHY NOT BET ON NEXT YEAR’S SUPER BOWL?

• NBA ALL-STAR GAME

• LET’S GO RACING: NASCAR RESTARTS WITH THE DAYTONA …

• TIGER IS BACK: BET HIM AT GENESIS INVITATIONAL?

WHY NOT BET ON NEXT YEAR’S SUPER BOWL?

• San Francisco 49ers (+550)

• Kansas City Chiefs (+650)

• Baltimore Ravens (+900)

• Buffalo Bills (+1000)

• Detroit Lions (+1200)

• Cincinnati Bengals (+1300)

• Miami Dolphins (+1700)

• Philadelphia Eagles (+2000)

• Green Bay Packers (+2000)

• Dallas Cowboys (+2000)

Kansas City Chiefs (+650)

The Chiefs just won Super Bowl 58 and have effectively established the new dynasty in town. Patrick Mahomes has three rings in the last five seasons, Andy Reid is sticking around for a little while, and the core of the team should remain intact.

Now, three-peating is going to be even harder than going back-to-back was. That being said, the Chiefs have that "We can beat anyone" mentality, so we can't count them out at all, especially in a tough AFC.

Look for the team to try to upgrade again at wide receiver and offensive line, their main weak spots this past season. 

Otherwise, it's full speed ahead for this team. We'll see them at Disney World.

Baltimore Ravens (+900)

It's hard to grade the Ravens' 2023-24 season as a failure. They were the top overall seed in a tough AFC, and Lamar Jackson won the MVP near-unanimously. 

At the same time, this offense looked anemic in Baltimore’s biggest game of the season: the AFC Conference Championship, in which they lost to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Chiefs.

Todd Monken returns for Year 2 of this new energized passing offense, which had some solid moments this season. Plenty of role contributors stepped up while All-Pro TE Mark Andrews (knee) missed time, and we could see more additions to this offense through free agency and the NFL Draft.

The defense will remain one of the best units in the NFL next season, despite DC Mike McDonald leaving for the Seattle Seahawks. These Ravens will be out for blood to prove that they belong in the upper echelon of AFC contenders.

Philadelphia Eagles (+2000)

The Eagles will be back in the conversation next season. New coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio represent a significant shift in the Eagles' front-office choices. Head coach Nick Sirianni will move into more of a CEO-type role (think of Dan Campbell) that sees him giving up his offense.

The defense will require major overhauls, starting with bolstering the linebacker corps and gaining more youth in the secondary. Still, this team will aim to rebound after last year’s Super Bowl 57 loss and this year’s late-season trainwreck.

Jalen Hurts is secure, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown should be staying put, and Moore should position this offense around those three elite weapons. — Sam Wagman

NBA ALL-STAR GAME

While the NBA All-Star Game always packs some action for an exhibition gathering, a real battle will take place this weekend as Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry takes on New York Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu in an exhibition three-point contest.

Sabrina Ionescu defeats Stephen Curry (+200)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit

Given the stationary, leveled playing field of a three-point contest, Ionescu (+200) presents a much better value than Curry (-280), who’s a heavy, profitable favorite.

Now, onto the game itself:

West All-Stars -2.5 (-110)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit

Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokić highlight the NBA MVP conversation. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James are three of the greatest players in the history of the league. Need I say more?

Giannis Antetokounmpo will get his, and Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum could shine. However, as a whole, the East All-Stars look outmatched by their Western Conference counterparts.

Over 365.5 (-110)

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit

Last year’s All-Star Game total closed at 325.5 points, so it might be surprising to see a projection this high. However, since the league is doing away with the untimed fourth quarter and the target score — which favored defense — we can expect a much higher-scoring contest in 2024.

The vast number of elite scorers and relaxed defense in this year’s game will help push this one Over 365.5 points.

NBA ASG PARLAY (+264)

Combine these two markets for a solid chance at plus-money. — Garrett Chorpenning

KEEP TABS THIS WEEK WHEN WE UPDATE OUR OTHER NBA ASG PICKS: DUNK CONTEST | 3-PT CONTEST | SKILLS COMPETITION

LET’S GO RACING: NASCAR RESTARTS WITH THE DAYTONA 500

Kyle Busch To Win Daytona 500 (+1100) 

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit

Last season, Kyle Busch appeared to be on the verge of finally winning the Daytona 500, an elusive crown jewel accomplishment in his illustrious career. But, after leading with three laps left in regulation, he wrecked in overtime and is still without what can be another landmark achievement for the two-time Cup champion. 

Busch has Loop Data numbers to suggest he can pull off one of the most important missing feats in his Cup Series lifetime. He leads all active drivers in all-time Driver Rating at Daytona International Speedway with a mark of 90.7. 

Over the past four DIS races, the No. 8 car ranks first in Green Flag Passes (1,212), third in Laps Led (46), second in Fastest Laps Run (21), and second with 698 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the Top 15 while under Green Flag Conditions).

Last year, at other restrictor plate sites, Busch won at Talladega and registered a fifth-place finish at Atlanta, making him my favorite pick for this weekend’s race.

Joey Logano Group B Winner Over Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson (+250) 

DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit

The Group B winner here may come down to Joey Logano or Chris Buescher. Chase Elliott has been inconsistent at DIS, and Kyle Larson winning this Group Prop would be a minor surprise.

Buescher will surely be a contender, yet I prefer Logano to prevail late in the race and come out ahead of the rest of the players in this group. — Scott Engel

TIGER IS BACK: BET HIM AT GENESIS INVITATIONAL?

Tiger Woods has returned to the PGA Tour for this weekend’s Genesis Invitational, the tournament that he runs, to make his first professional appearance since the 2023 Hero World Challenge. Is it smart to bet on him, though?

Woods is two years removed from the single-vehicle car crash that nearly cost him his right leg, and he hasn’t put together any consecutive rounds that make you go, “Hmm, I think Tiger’s back to competing form.”

Woods did walk all four rounds in December at the Hero and had a few moments in which he looked like the Tiger of old.

However, California’s Riviera Golf Course in California will present Woods with a major hurdle this weekend. You need to be on top of your game entirely to compete there, and I’m not buying Woods as a bet this week.

I am backing Max Homa.

As of Wednesday, the 33-year-old sits at a modest 20/1 to win the Genesis, but I love this Top 10 golf prop as well at +190.

Since this became an Invitational event in 2020, Homa has been a mainstay around the top of the leaderboard. He’s finished in the top 10 in all four of those starts, winning in 2021 and finishing runner-up last year to make himself possibly the most well-rounded player in this field here.

The L.A. native has won multiple times in southern California during his career. It’s hard to bet someone to win any golf tournament, but how can we not back Homa to finish Top-10 at a course he’s crushed? — Sam Wagman