NBA Futures Betting - Picking the 2009-10 Assist Leader

When it comes to dishing the rock with slick passes that often leave NBA betting spectators and analysts alike, slack-jawed in awe, the players that are in the running for this year’s unofficial NBA assist leader title are in a class by themselves.

A look at the list of past winner’s says that not many players have traditionally won the annual assist title and once a point guard gets on a roll with passing the rock, they generally tend to hold the league’s assist title for at least two or three seasons.

With that thought in mind, NBA sports betting at BetUS members have another way of cashing in on an entertaining, season-long NBA Futures wager, this time by predicting the correct winner of this season’s assist title.

Here is a look at the past winners since 2001 and current Assist Leader Futures Odds – followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA expert prediction on which player will actually win this season’s NBA assist title.

Past League Assist Leaders

2008-09 Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 11.0
2007-08 Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 11.6
2006-07 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 11.6
2005-06 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 10.5
2004-05 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 11.5
2003-04 Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 9.2
2002-03 Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 8.9
2001-02 Andre Miller Cleveland Cavaliers 10.9

2008-09 Leaders

Chris Paul – New Orleans -11.0
Deron Williams – Utah Jazz -10.7
Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns -9.7
Jose Calderon – Toronto Raptors -8.9
Jason Kidd – Dallas Mavericks -8.7

Current NBA Assist Champion Odds

Chris Paul Ev

Analysis: The reigning two-time assist leader will undoubtedly have a shot to defend his assist title, but will the loss of alley-oop partner Tyson Chandler hurt his chances? Maybe not as Chandler was in and out of the lineup (and mostly out) due to ongoing injury issues last season.

Deron Williams +200

Analysis: Williams finished second last season after ranking third the season before. Is it time for Williams to continue his ascent and move to the top of the list?

Jason Kidd +1000

Analysis: Kidd finished fifth in assists last season and third in 2007-08. As he becomes more accustomed to his teammates in Dallas, will Kidd reign supreme as the league’s assist leader once again?

Steve Nash +300

Analysis: Nash ranked third in assists last season and second in 2007-08, but could vault back to the top of the assist standings as the Phoenix Suns plan on getting back to their ‘seven seconds or less’ style they flourished in under former head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Field +1000

Analysis: Jose Calderon is the likely leader in ‘the field’ category after ranking fifth in assists in 2007-08 and fourth in assists last season.

Analysis: I believe that Chris Paul may have to up his scoring a bit, while slightly lowering his assist total in order to help the New Orleans Hornets try to remain a top playoff seed in the strong Western Conference, so my pick here is one of two point guard – either Deron Williams or Steve Nash, the league’s three-time winner from 2004-05 through 2006-07.