Crossing Broad
Sometimes it can be hard to appreciate the up-and-coming players in Philadelphia when there’s an intense focus on the city’s stars.
But I think now is the perfect time to appreciate what we have for the future with the three teams currently in action.
Quinyon Mitchell, Jared McCain, and Matvei Michkov are all +400 or lower to win their respective Rookie of the Year awards as of Monday morning.
Mitchell’s rise is the most notable of the three because he wasn’t expected to be at the top of the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.
Just over the weekend alone, Mitchell’s odds dropped from the +1000 to +2000 range to below +300 at most major sportsbooks.
If you were one of the lucky ones, Mitchell’s odds re-opened after Thursday night around +1000 and plummeted as people made bets at that number and lower.
Mitchell is +250 at FanDuel and +275 at DraftKings behind Los Angeles Rams edge-rusher Jared Verse going into Week 12, where it just so happens that the Eagles play the Rams.
Obviously, Verse and Mitchell won’t be going head-to-head, but there’s a good chance Mitchell’s stock rises if he is able to shut down the Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua combination.
Another shift in the odds after Sunday could result in three Philadelphia athletes being favorites for their Rookie of the Year honors.
Jared McCain grabbed hold of the top spot on the NBA chart with his standout performances over the last week.
McCain is +200 at FD and +210 at DK to win the ROTY amid a soft field, and let’s just call it what it is –
There’s no Wemby, Luka or Ja to compete with. All of the key rookies are No. 3 pieces at best on their respective rosters. That’s opened up the ROTY odds with Pennsylvania sports betting.
McCain’s emergence has been the lone positive to the Sixers’ slow start, and if Joel Embiid keeps sitting with whatever the hell he’s dealing with, the rookie’s playing time will increase, and in turn, his ROY resume will become more robust.
Even with Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey on the floor (whenever that actually happens), McCain has the potential to put up some decent numbers off the bench to add to the foundation he’s already building with the top three players out.
Michkov had the highest expectations of any Philadelphia rookie entering his season, and so far with 15 points, he’s delivered on the hype. He is -140 to win the Calder Trophy. He’s got one more point than Dallas’ Logan Stankoven, his closest competition at the moment.
It’s also worth noting Michkov has an 11-point edge on No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who was out for some time at the start of the season. Celebrini and Stankoven are Michkov’s biggest competitors for the Calder, but given what we’ve seen in 16 games of Michkov, he’s only going to get better and will be hard to overtake at his current rate....
