2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) Prop Bet: Blake Griffin vs. the Green Bay Packers

Leading up to the 2011 Super Bowl XLV (45) between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, we'll be taking a look at Super Bowl proposition betting, or more specifically, the fun or funny Super Bowl 45 (XLV) prop bets that you hear so much about. That includes props on the Super Bowl coin toss, Super Bowl halftime show, Super Bowl National Anthem, Super Bowl postgame Gatorade Shower dump and much more. Follow along on the Super Bowl sidebar to the right!

Some of the more intriguing Super Bowl prop bets are always the cross sport bets, such as the one featuring the soon to be NBA Rookie of the Year.

Who Will Have More Points on Feb 6th 2011 Money
Blake Griffin (Clippers vs. Heat)
Packers Points

On paper, this bet appears to favor the Packers. The standard team prop has the Packers over/under at 24 points in the Super Bowl. Blake Griffin is averaging less than that, at 23.0 points per game. Naturally, you should take the Packers, right?

Not so fast. While Griffin is averaging 23 for the season, the rookie has been even hotter lately. Griffin scored 32 points for the second game in a row after averaging 26.0 per game throughout the month of January. So, for those of you looking to bet on the Packers over/under, you could potentially give yourself a couple points of wiggle room if you like the under by pitting the Packers against Blake Griffin.

Then again, in Griffin's first meeting against the Heat, of course, he had 24 points. Which puts us back to square one.

The bottom line: we still think the Packers outscore Blake. The Clippers/Heat game could either be a chance for Griffin to showcase himself once again on a national stage with a huge game, or a could be a huge blowout in which the rookie doesn't play as much as he usually does. We're expecting a high-scoring Super Bowl and are sticking with the team on the football field over the player on the basketball court.

2009 NBA Draft Prop Bets Go 5-2

Our 2009 NBA Draft Prop Bets were fairly successful, finishing with a record of 5-2. That record is terribly misleading though, since we're including the prop that Blake Griffin will play for the Clippers this year, which nets us $1.18 off a $100 bet.

Still, not a bad showing at the draft.

Our other props that won included betting Tyler Hansbrough to be selected before Chase Budinger, and another to go before Wayne Ellington, though both of those were won with significant chalk. We also correctly picked Hasheem Thabeet to be selected before James Harden, though again, there was plenty of juice on that one.

Our most profitable win was correctly predicting that Darren Collison would be selected in the first round (+105), and we didn't even have to sweat it out. The Hornets nabbed Collison with the 21st pick in the draft.

So, until next year, thanks for joining us for our 2009 NBA Draft coverage.

Want to Make $1.18 on an NBA Draft Prop?

We are always looking at new ways to make money, and any amount of money will do. However, we might by laying off this enticing proposition bet for the 2009 NBA Draft.

Courtesy of BetED:

Who will Blake Griffin play for?

Los Angeles Clippers -8500

Any other team +3500

Now, these bets are often in place just so that average bettors see the huge odds on "any other team" and decide, what the hell, I'll throw a couple of bucks on this. There is virtually no way Blake Griffin doesn't play for the Clippers in the upcoming season, and while it would be nice to win $3,500 on a $100 bet, it's not happening. The Oklahoma big man will go No. 1 and will play for the Clippers in 2009. In fact, you would be better served betting $100 on Griffin playing for the Clippers, collecting your free $1.18 cents, and buying a hamburger or pack of gum or something.

We'll look at 2009 NBA Draft prop bets a little closer tomorrow, so until then, you can budget for an extra $1.18 in your bank account.

Oh, and check out our mock draft located in the upper right hand corner of this page.

2009 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-2

Our pick-by-by 2009 NBA Lottery Mock Draft begins today with the first two picks in the draft. The Clippers have an obvious choice, while the Grizzlies isn't so easy.

We'll roll the picks out in pairs for the next week leading up the real NBA Draft on June 25.

1. Clippers: Blake Griffin, PF/C, Oklahoma

The Clippers won the Griffin sweepstakes thanks to a little bit of luck from the ping pong balls in May, and they'll be reaping the benefits in May (yeah, that's right, playoffs) for the next decade at least. Griffin is a can't miss prospect and is the real deal down low, so much so that not even the Clippers can screw this up. We can see him as a dominant big man in the league for a long time.

2. Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn

With Griffin off the board, the real draft begins. Big men are so hard to come by early in this guard heavey draft, and we think they'll be even harder to come by for the teams picking after Memphis. Thabeet is a talented kid and is NBA ready thanks to his college experience and incredible 7'3'' size. He's limited offensively but should be a wall defensively. The Grizzlies will be glad they passed on the many available point guards.

Two down, 12 to go as we mock the NBA Draft Lottery Picks. Check back tomorrow for picks three and four.

Don't Mock Us: 2009 NBA Mock Draft Central

With the 2009 NBA Draft set for June 25th, mock drafts are flying around similar to the frenzy surrounding the annual NFL Draft in April.

Also similar to the NFL Draft, we'll be conducting our first ever NBA Mock Draft in the days leading up to the big day.

In the NBA we'll cover the first fourteen picks as we mock the lottery teams, two at a time until draft day.

It's a pretty safe bet that Oklahoma's Blake Griffin will be the No. 1 pick selected by the Clippers, but beyond that is anyone's guess. In the coming days, you'll see our guesses.

Will Blake be the first player taken overall? Stay tuned for Stock Lemon's first annual NBA mock draft to find out.