The Metro Report: Sports Betting & Sports Business in New Jersey , New York and Philadelphia

Since the advent of Sports Betting the coverage of the New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia markets are essential to prognosticators. So I will expand with my Gaming Guy News minutes into the 3 top cities on the East Coast.

The Nets are playing well with the addition of James Harden. Harden had a triple double in his debut with the team. He finished the game with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. Brooklyn has won four games in a row. This has been accomplish without Kyrie Irving. Irving has been apart from the team for the past 7 days for personal reasons. While there are questions as to if this group can co-exist together there is no doubt that they are a popular choice to win the NBA championship. The odds of the Nets winning the NBA Championship before the Harden trade was +250. The odds are now +130.

The Sixers are expecting Joel Embiid to return tonight. He has missed the last two game with a sore knee. The team has indicated the injury is not serious. The team is always precautious with Embiid and Ben Simmons. In this season with so many games in a short period of time this is a prudent path. Load management is being exercise with most of the NBA marquee players, The Sixers faced the Celtics for the 1st time this season. Celtics eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs last year. The Sixers are -5.5 and the total is 216.5. 

The Wizards are rumored to be entertaining talks to trade Bradley Beal. Beal is leading the league in scoring. Several teams that have been listed as a possible destination include the Lakers, Celtics and the Sixers. The Nets have teams looking at adding a player that would give them a big three. This would make the Wizards a rebuilding team. There would be  uncertainty as to if Russell Westbrook would want to buy in to that type of situation. The Wizards have the 2nd worst record in the NBA Eastern Conference. 

The Eagles are still involved with their coaching search. Josh McDaniels is the hot name that is being cited this week. McDaniels met with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on Sunday. Unless the Eagles are waiting to interview someone that is involved with a team still in the playoffs, McDaniels would seem like the front runner because of his championship resume. 

The Jets have announced Robert Saleh as their new head coach.  Saleh is best known for his role as defensive coordinator for the Niners during 2017 thru 2020. The Niners defense was feared during most of that period and led them to an appearance in the Super Bowl. Jets could be in a position to make a run at Deshaun Watson. Watson is seeking a trade from the Texans. 

Sports Business: Pennsylvania and New Jersey reported casino revenue was down 22% &17% in 2020. Tax revenue from gaming in New Jersey increased in 2020. The revenue from online gaming impacted the Garden State in a positive way. The taxes on internet wagering are slightly higher than bets made at the casinos. This trend shows a growing propensity to play poker, tables games, slots and wager on sports online. New York is strongly considering moving into the online gaming space. 

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The Metro Report: Sports Betting in Philly , New York and Washington DC

The Eagles turn the page from Doug Pedersen and fired him on Monday. It was rumored that he would return along with GM Howie Roseman. Only Roseman remains with the team. Owner Jeff Lurie gave the reason as a difference in philosophy on what was needed to fix things. The approach is Lurie is looking at appears to be more long term. The person mentioned as a candidate to replace Pedersen is Todd Bowles. defensive coordinator  for the Tampa  Bay Buccaneers.

Washington Football lost to the Bucs in the opening round  of the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. The score was 31-23.The quarterback, Taylor Heinicke  played an excellent game. Coach Rivera indicated that settling the QB position would be an off season priority. Alex Smith wanted to wait a couple week before he decides his future about continuing to play. He is under contract for next season.

The Jets have two picks in the 1st round of the NFL Draft 2021. They have the 2nd, 23rd  and 34 picks. This bodes well for the Jets because this draft is deep in talent. If they plan to move on from Sam Darnold then a QB is the way to go with the second pick. If they still want to commit to Darnold, then DeVonta Smith ,Heisman Trophy receiver from Alabama would up grade the offense immediately.

The Sixers broke a 3 game losing streak last night by defeating the Heat 137-134. Joel Embiid played a monster game. He led the team with 45 points and 16 rebounds. The Sixers are still without the services of Tobias Harris, Shake Milton and Seth Curry due to COVID protocol. Sixers play the Heat again on Thursday. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic did not play last night. Butler has been ruled out for Thursday game. 

The Brooklyn Nets will be without Kyrie Irving for the balance of this week. He has cited personal reasons for his absence. The team is not commenting on the situation. There is a video that appears to show Irving not adhering to COVID protocols .Watch the video. If a player is found to miss games due to a violation , each game missed can result in a reduction of salary for each game missed. Nets are 6-6 and 7th in the conference standing. 

The Nets continued to stay in the headlines with the acquisition of James Harden from the Houston Rockets.It involved a 4 team trade to complete the deal. While the loss of Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince will decrease the depth of the team, having the multiple time scoring champion will make up for the point production. The Nets included 4 first round picks so they are all in.

The Wizards continue to be exciting but unable to win or defend. They have a record of 3-8.  Bradley Beal is the leading scorer. Russell Westbrook is continuing to get triple double numbers every night. Thomas Bryant suffer a torn ACL and is out for the season. Westbrook is out for a week due to a left quad injury.

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The NFL AFC East and West

I wanted to share my ranking of the AFC East and West with you. I will give you the winner of both divisions and each teams projected record in the 1st seven games. My ranking will include the teams I think they will lose to. It will give you the key match up that you can look forward to. The reason I lock in on the 1st seven games is that will give you a sample size of what type of team they are. You can analyze them against the spread and how they fare in over/under totals. How they play at home and on the road. This will give you data to use for the second half of the season. Good Luck!

                                                        AFC East

1).Patriots- 7-0 The key match up in this period is opening night against the Steelers.

2).Jets- 2-5 New York will lose to the Pats twice, Eagles, Dallas & Browns. The key match up is a Monday Night Football Game against the Browns.

3).Bills- 3-4 Buffalo loses to Jets, Giants, Eagles and Patriots. The game to mark on your calendar is the home opener against the Bengals.

4).Dolphins- 0-7 The game to circle on the schedule is against Washington. It is a home game and both team project as looking for their 1st win.


                                                      AFC West

1) Chiefs- 6-1 Kansas City will lose to Raiders. The key match up is week six against Houston. This could be a playoff preview.

2).Chargers- 6-1  Chargers loses to Texans. The game to anticipate is week six against the Steelers. This has the making of a shoot out and an over.

3).Raiders- 4-3  Oakland loses to Vikings, Packers and Texans. The match up to watch will be week five in London against the Bears and Khalil Mack.

4)Broncos - 2-5  Denver will lose to Raiders, Bears, Packers, Chargers and Chiefs. Game to circle is week four against Jacksonville. Both teams should be looking for their 1st win.