Public Loves Celtics Stars For Little-Known Award, But Should They?
Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and others on the Boston Celtics have stressed the importance of playing unselfish and being committed to a team-first approach. Green Teamers should love to hear it.
Well, unless they’ve made a wager on one of Boston’s stars to win the NBA’s “Clutch Player of the Year.” The little-known award is in its second season of existence and is given to a player who “best comes through for his teammates in the clutch.”
The biggest problem the Celtics present, though, is they have a handful of players who figure to come through in those situations. Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White all could be in the closing lineup with Tatum and Porzingis. At the end of the season, it’s fair to think those moments could cause the C’s to take votes away from each other.
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The Celtics nevertheless have three of the most popular picks to win the Jerry West trophy, as revealed by BetMGM one week before the start of the regular season.
The 7-foot-3 Porzingis, who stretches the floor as well as any big man in the league, represents 15% of the tickets, which is the most of any player. Tatum represents the most money (16.6%) and second-most tickets (12.5%) while Brown ranks third in handle (13.4%) and tied for fourth in tickets (7.5%).
All told, Celtics players represent 32.6% of the handle and 28% of tickets for the Clutch Player of the Year award.
Tatum finished 10th in voting last season, well behind winner De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings. Fox led the league in “clutch points,” which come during the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. Tatum ranked 22nd while Brown ranked 28th in the category, likely because each stepped up in their own moments.
The Celtics now have even more players who can do so. Instead, here are a few different Celtics-specific wagers to consider with Boston’s season set to start Oct. 25 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.