Bryant has the edge for MVP, oddsmakers say

With the NBA regular season close to an end, supporters of the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant should feel good about his chances of winning the league’s most-valuable-player award.

That’s because Bryant -- still seeking his first NBA regular-season MVP honor -- is considered by Las Vegas oddsmakers as the strong favorite to beat out New Orleans’ Chris Paul.

Bryant is given 1-2 odds to end his MVP drought, with Paul listed at 1-1, according to Sportsbetting.com.

So if a Bryant fan bet $100 and won, the fan would get $50 back. A wager of $100 on Paul would pay $100 if the Hornets’ point guard took home the honor.

In a way, this is a great rally story for Bryant, who before the NBA All-Star break received his biggest MVP support from in-game chants yelled by nonvoting fans.

But Bryant’s stock began to climb after Boston’s Kevin Garnett -- regarded as the front-runner to win the MVP award during the first half of the season -- missed a chunk of games because of injury.

Garnett, who has helped Boston earn the league’s best overall record this season, has also been hurt by the Celtics’ dominant play and blowout wins. After averaging 20.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his career, Garnett’s numbers have dropped to 18.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season.

Another plus for Bryant has been the surprising drop in support for Cleveland’s LeBron James.

Although James is having the best season of his career and has an opportunity to average 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists (which would be the first time any player had done that since Michael Jordan in 1998-99), his status has leveled since the All-Star break.

James is listed at 5-1 to win the MVP award, while Garnett is at 8-1.

The only other players in the running are Orlando’s Dwight Howard at 30-1 and Phoenix’s Steve Nash, who is also listed at 30-1 by Sportsbook.com.

Bryant supporters should note that he also had favorable odds to win the award at this point last season. But in the end, Bryant came up short and Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki was named MVP.

Tennis

Good action is available on bets involving this year’s Davis Cup competition.

The United States is given 5-1 odds to win the 2008 championship, with Argentina listed at 3-2, Spain at 11-4 and France and Russia at 8-1, according to Bodoglife.com.

The Czech Republic is listed at 12-1, Germany at 14-1 and Sweden at 80-1.

In odds-on, head-to-head, first-round matchups, the U.S. is regarded as a heavy favorite (-350) to defeat France (+250). Argentina (-3,000) is an overwhelming favorite over Sweden (+1,000), Spain (-330) gets the nod over Germany (+230) and Russia (-200) over the Czech Republic (+150).

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lonnie.white@latimes.com