NBA Handicapping Articles

New York Knicks NBA Handicapping: Betting Impact of Fisher Firing
by Trevor Whenham - 2/8/2016

In a move that hardly qualifies as shocking, the New York Knicks have decided that Derek Fisher no longer deserves to coach their team. He has been fired before the all-star break in his second season. What is shocking, though, is that the Knicks ever thought that hiring Fisher was a good idea in the first place - and that he managed to last as long as he did.

NBA Odds: Saturday, February 6 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/5/2016

Many around the NBA think that the team with the best chance to beat the Golden State Warriors in this year's playoffs is not the San Antonio Spurs but the Oklahoma City Thunder. That's because obviously OKC has two of the best players/scorers in the NBA in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and they are capable of matching Steph Curry point-for-point.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 2/5/2016

One week until the NBA All-Star Break. The Golden State Warriors are back on pace to best the Chicago Bulls record of 72-10. As someone who has been high on Golden State for a long time, this Golden State team is surpassing even my highest expectations. Oklahoma City has quietly won 12 of their last 13 games. The Thunder still have two superstars on their roster and they won't be an easy out in the playoffs. Even with the Warriors looking totally dominant, I think there is plenty of competition to make things exciting in the Western Conference the rest of the way.

NBA Odds: Friday, February 5, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/4/2016

I'm not sure if you still care about the Dunk Contest on All-Star Weekend considering no superstars compete any longer, but the field for the Feb. 12 event in Toronto has been released. And unfortunately it doesn't include Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins, who is one of the best dunkers in the NBA and from Toronto. He decided to pass, saying that he "retired" from dunk contests after losing the one in the McDonald's All-American game in high school.

NBA Betting Trends: Pace vs. Totals Wagering
by Chris Vasile - 2/4/2016

One animal (unwillingly) has been synonymous with sports betting ever since I can remember. That poor animal is the moose. Getting "moosed" refers to a bet that has gone horribly wrong despite the fact that everything was progressing just as planned.

NBA Odds: Thursday, February 4 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/3/2016

Can you even imagine Kevin Durant on the Warriors with Golden State still able to keep Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green? Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, who is about as plugged in as any NBA reporter, reported on Tuesday that the Warriors would be the front-runners to sign Durant as a free agent this summer if he decides to leave Oklahoma City. Just think about that. These Warriors might break the NBA single-season record for wins and then add perhaps the league's second-best player?

NBA Odds: Wednesday, February 3 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/2/2016

Looking for a decent longer-shot bet to win the Eastern Conference? Consider the Charlotte Hornets, who are currently +20000. Sure, Cleveland is probably going to roll to a second straight East title as long as LeBron James stays healthy. And the Hornets aren't even a playoff team as things stand, sitting in the ninth spot. But if the Hornets can finally get to full health, this could be a dangerous team. That's because defensive dynamo Michael Kidd-Gilchrist surprisingly returned to action over the weekend.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, February 2 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/1/2016

I felt pretty confident that the plummeting Phoenix Suns were going to fire coach Jeff Hornacek during the All-Star break, but ownership decided to do so ahead of schedule as Hornacek was dumped on Monday. The Suns have lost 19 of their past 21 games and are 14-35 (.286), which is on pace to be the franchise's worst season since the inaugural team went 16-66 (.195). The team has lost 14 straight road games.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 1/29/2016

The NBA All-Star Break is a couple weeks away. While it is hard to imagine, I'm starting to believe the Golden State Warriors still haven't gotten the respect they deserve. A reigning NBA Champion with the record they have right now should be even more highly thought of than Golden State is right now. The Warriors are 28-17-1 against the spread this year, which is crazy considering the books know they have to set Golden State's lines high because they are now a public team.

NBA Odds: Saturday, January 30 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/29/2016

Sometimes when I speak with people who know nothing about sports betting, usually women, they don't understand anything about spreads or moneylines. "Why can't you just bet on which team wins?" I'm often asked. Exhibit No. 1 for why you need a spread in a game is on Saturday evening when we will see probably the third-biggest spread all season as the NBA's best team, record-setting Golden State, visits the league's worst, Philadelphia.

NBA Odds: Friday, January 29, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/28/2016

In my opinion, the best trade by any team in the NBA this past offseason was by Charlotte last June when it acquired swingman Nic Batum from Portland for guard Gerald Henderson and young power forward Noah Vonleh (close second: Dallas getting Zaza Pachulia from Milwaukee for peanuts). From the Blazers' thinking, they were dealing a guy who had dealt with some injuries and was entering the final year of his contract.

NBA Betting Trends: How Teams Perform ATS with Rest
by Chris Vasile - 1/28/2016

The Golden State Warriors came out of the gates flying and got off to a 24-0 start before being upended by the Milwaukee Bucks. Steph Curry is playing like a man possessed, hitting seemingly every shot he takes (30.3 points per game) despite missing a few games due to injury. It will be interesting to see if the Warriors (42-4) can stay hot and threaten the NBA record of 72-10 for a complete season.

NBA Odds: Thursday, January 28 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2016

The Los Angeles Clippers don't play on Thursday, but I want to address the Blake Griffin issue. He apparently will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, although Coach Doc Rivers says that timetable is unrealistic. Griffin was hurt after punching the team's assistant equipment manager a few times outside a Toronto restaurant over the weekend. Apparently the two are good friends and had vacationed together but were arguing about something. I'm sure TMZ will have video eventually. Griffin was one of the most disliked players around the NBA, so I'm sure many locker rooms are filled with laughter right now.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, January 27 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2016

I will be interested to see how the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors follow up Monday's highly-anticipated matchup in Oakland in their games on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Monday's game itself was pretty uninteresting unless you are a Warriors fan or gave the points. Golden State made a major statement with a 120-90 rout.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, January 26 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2016

I'm starting to like the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in his crusty old age. Kobe knows his career is going to end on a down note because the Lakers obviously aren't going to the playoffs again this season. But at least Kobe isn't going down without a fight. He ripped rookie D'Angelo Russell and second-year player Julius Randle following L.A.'s sixth straight loss on Saturday night. That's the role Bryant has to play now: veteran teacher. He's not going to help the Lakers win much on the court, but he needs to instill a killer instinct in the team's future star players.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 1/22/2016

As good as the Golden State Warriors have been, the San Antonio Spurs are only two games behind them for the top seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio and Golden State meet for the first time this coming week, and I know I'm pumped to see those two teams square off. It's being reported on Friday afternoon that David Blatt has been fired by the Cleveland Cavs. The Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but their play against the best teams in the Western Conference has been awful.

NBA Odds: Saturday, January 23 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/22/2016

New on the NBA schedule this season are eight prime-time Saturday night games spread out over the second half of the season and televised nationally by ABC. ESPN/ABC's No. 1 team of Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Breen and Mark Jackson will work the "Saturday Primetime" games, which will follow a pregame studio show. It's an interesting choice because ESPN already has NBA packages for Friday night and Sunday afternoon -- some games that would have been showcased on Sundays were moved to Saturday nights.

NBA Odds: Friday, January 22, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/21/2016

OK, this is getting ridiculous. NBA players like Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan need to suck it up pride-wise and go to Hall of Famer Rick Barry, one of the greatest free-throw shooters in NBA history, and learn how to shoot from the charity stripe underhanded. It really does work. Drummond is a magnificent player, but on Wednesday against Houston and Howard, Drummond missed a league-record 23 freebies (36 attempts). If I'm the opposing team, I simply foul the guy every time he touches the ball; use up your scrub big men at times.

NBA Odds: Thursday, January 21 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/20/2016

I actually feel sorry for the New Orleans Pelicans. There's a lot of talent on that team, to the point where I believe it could be maybe the fifth-best in the West behind Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and the L.A. Clippers if the Pelicans could just get healthy all at once. But that never seems to happen and injury has struck again.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, January 20 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/19/2016

If you are a devout NBA fan/bettor like I am, you probably did just what I was planning to do on Monday night: have a few cold ones on the couch while watching the entire NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and Cavaliers, Golden State's first visit to Cleveland since winning last season's title in Game 6 there. I expected it to be a great game and was leaning Cleveland, which was the first team favored over the Warriors this season.