NBA Handicapping Articles

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 12/11/2014

Washington returns home for three games against the Western Conference starting with Friday night’s tilt against the Los Angeles Clippers. The tip from the Verizon Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET), and this game will be available on NBA League Pass.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, December 11 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/10/2014

It's one of those games you circled on the NBA schedule back in the spring in the TNT opener on Thursday night as the Magic-Bird rivalry of this generation is renewed for the first time this season when LeBron James and Kevin Durant square off. Certainly they could meet in the NBA Finals for the second time as the Cavaliers now look like the East's best team while the Thunder are climbing the Western Conference standings since Durant's return from a broken foot. Here's a look at that game and the TNT nightcap, the only two games on Thursday's schedule.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, December 10 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/9/2014

So, Golden State ownership is looking rather smart right now for getting rid of successful head coach Mark Jackson and replacing him this offseason with Steve Kerr, who had zero coaching experience. The Warriors are a sick 18-2, making Kerr the second coach in NBA history to win 18 of his first 20 games. The other was Al Cervi of the 1949-50 Syracuse Nationals, and that team finished 51-13 and reached the NBA Finals. Kerr is your clear Coach of the Year favorite. The Warriors go for their 14th straight win Wednesday. Here's a look at every game.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, December 9 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/8/2014

Since the last time I wrote one of the stories, the Philadelphia 76ers won not just once but twice to avoid tying an NBA record with a 0-18 start. I'm not even sure the Sixers are the worst team in the NBA right now. That designation has to go to the utterly disappointing Detroit Pistons. I was in the camp that thought the Pistons would be fighting for a playoff spot under new coach/team president Stan Van Gundy, but they are 3-18 and enter Tuesday's game on a 12-game losing streak.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 12/5/2014

Washington has already gone a perfect 3-0 SU (2-1 ATS) in the first three games of this homestand with Wednesday night’s 111-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers as an 8.5-point home favorite. The Wizards are now 12-5 SU on the year, which is the second-best record in the East. They are still below .500 ATS at 8-9, but they are 7-5 ATS as favorites. The total has stayed “under” in three of their last four contests.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 12/4/2014

We're more than a month into the NBA regular season. It's time for the second edition of our Hot and Cold report. Golden State and Memphis are first and second, respectively, in the Western Conference. Golden State is no surprise to me; that team is loaded with talent and they are buying into Coach Steve Kerr's system. Memphis is a surprise as most people had them pegged as the seventh or eighth best team in the Western Conference. Toronto has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 15-4. Cleveland has started slowly, but they are showing signs of coming around. The NBA Atlantic is shaping up to be one of the worst divisions in NBA history, while the NBA Southwest is loaded with great teams.

NBA Handicapping: Evaluating the Golden State Warriors Fast Start
by Trevor Whenham - 12/4/2014

If you were to have bet a month ago that the top four teams in the NBA on Dec. 2 would be Golden State, Memphis, Toronto and Portland then you would be very, very rich right now. The success of each one of those squads is surprising in its own way. Of the four, the Warriors are probably the one most likely to be doing well, though after missing out on Kevin Love and going through a pretty significant coaching change it counts as a major surprise that they are doing as well as they are. Through 17 games they have just two losses, and their 11-6 ATS mark is third-best in the league. So, how are they doing it? And, more importantly for bettors, can they keep doing it. Here are five factors to consider when evaluating this team:

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, December 4 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/3/2014

No matter how good or bad the Knicks were, it was always a big event in the Big Apple when Michael Jordan came to town. It's not much different these days -- even though the Knicks really stink -- when LeBron James visits Madison Square Garden. James and the Cavaliers make their first of two regular-season trips there in the TNT opener Thursday night. Frankly, James might not be even be the best player currently this season on the televised doubleheader as Anthony Davis leads the Pelicans into Golden State in the nightcap. Here's a look at the full Thursday schedule.

NBA Handicapping: Los Angeles Lakers Betting Outlook
by George Monroy - 12/3/2014

The Los Angeles Lakers started off the year with some bad luck—a preseason thumb injury to Nick Young and a devastating knee injury to rookie Julius Randle—and for a second seemed to be headed for one of the worst seasons in NBA, let alone franchise, history. After the first 10 games of the year, Los Angeles was sitting on the second-worst record in the league, one win, and a sub-.500 ATS mark.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, December 3 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/2/2014

The Philadelphia 76ers tied the NBA record for most consecutive losses overall last season with 26. They can tie another record Wednesday night in a winnable game at Minnesota. A loss would tie the 76ers with the 2009-10 Nets for most defeats to start a season with 18. You can bet that Philly will get Minnesota's best as the Wolves don't want to be that team to lose, although they are so young and injury-ravaged it may not matter. I think this is the Sixers' best chance to win all season thus far. Here's a look at every game on Wednesday's schedule.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, December 2 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/1/2014

How ridiculously good is the Western Conference this season? Entering Monday you had five teams on winning streaks of at least three games: Memphis, Golden State, San Antonio, Dallas and the L.A. Clippers. Then you look at the sad East by comparison, which got even weaker over the weekend when the conference-leading Toronto Raptors lost their best player, DeMar DeRozan, for several weeks with a torn tendon in his left groin (yikes!)

NBA Handicapping: Memphis Grizzlies ATS Report
by George Monroy - 12/1/2014

The Memphis Grizzlies are experiencing a breakthrough of sorts during the early part of the NBA year and seem to have made the leap from a good team to an elite one. The transformation in large part has come from the MVP-caliber performance that franchise center Marc Gasol has put up through the first 17 games of the season. Memphis raced out of the gate to a 15-2 record and has been nothing sort of dominant under Gasol’s 20 points, eight rebounds and nearly two blocks per game averages.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Saturday, November 29 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/28/2014

Do I have the guts? The guts to call a Philadelphia upset of Dallas on Saturday night? I am curious to see what the final score is because the 76ers are one of the worst offensive teams I have ever seen, while Dallas is the NBA's top-scoring team. Mavs-Sixers is one of six games on the schedule Saturday, with many involving the second of a back-to-back after a very busy Friday in the NBA. Pelicans-Wizards is your only national TV option on NBA TV. Here's a look at every game.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, November 28 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/27/2014

The Thanksgiving day off in the NBA schedule is a good time to check out some updated NBA futures at Sportsbook.ag as every team is about 20 percent through its schedule or will be soon. Not much has changed. Cavs-Spurs remains the NBA Finals favored matchup, albeit at a longer +650. Cavs-Warriors is next at +800. Cleveland has risen to +120 to win the East, and San Antonio up to +250 to take the West. LeBron James remains the MVP favorite at +140, but Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry (+300) are right on his tail. Here's a look at every Friday matchup on a busy day.

NBA Handicapping: How to Take Advantage of the Cleveland Cavaliers Struggles
by George Monroy - 11/26/2014

The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off one of the biggest offseason coups in league history by signing LeBron James during free agency and trading for perennial all-star Kevin Love a month later. The moves catapulted Cleveland up the NBA ranks and placed the team as title favorites heading into the 2014-15 season. Most experts, however, scoffed at the idea of the Cavaliers being considered as favorites over the host of talented teams in the West, yet no one really expected them to struggle as much as they have during the first part of the season.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, November 26 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/25/2014

I believe that the NBA schedule is dark on just two days during the regular season outside of the All-Star Break. Those days would be Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. So with no games on Thursday it's an expected very heavy schedule Wednesday night with all but four teams in action. For your live betting pleasure at WagerWeb, Knicks-Mavericks (ESPN) and Grizzlies-Lakers (NBA TV) are on national television. Here's a look at every game.

NBA Handicapping: Is Pelicans Hot Start Sustainable?
by Trevor Whenham - 11/25/2014

The New Orleans Pelicans are not off to a shocking start — they aren’t the Kings — but they are definitely impressing out of the gate. At 7-5 they are competitive in the West, and the way they have played makes it possible to believe that they could stick around the playoff race for a long time. This is one of those positive stories in the league — a young team that has shown patience and is building around a core of their own. So, how do we evaluate this team and where they are at right now from a betting perspective?

NBA Handicapping: Will Bucks Continue to Surprise?
by Trevor Whenham - 11/25/2014

The Milwaukee Bucks are far from the most talented or experienced teams in the league, but despite the fact that coach Jason Kidd is not the most likeable guy in the league right now, this team is as easy to like — and to get excited about the future of — as any team in the league. At 7-7 they aren’t lighting the league on fire, but they are playing well above a level that will be needed to make the playoffs in the pathetic Eastern Conference. So, how is this team doing what they are doing? And how do we evaluate them as bettors?

Oklahoma City Thunder Futures Odds: Not even a Lock for the Playoffs
by George Monroy - 11/24/2014

News around the NBA is that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have returned to light practice and are five to 10 games away from returning to a roster that started the year with the worst record in the entire Western Conference. Oklahoma City had championship aspirations heading into the 2014 season and was also on the hot seat after failing to make a return trip to the NBA Finals since losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat back in 2012.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, November 25 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/24/2014

Part of me wants to simply exclude Chicago Bulls games in these stories going forward. I must admit I'm a bit of Bulls fan, but I certainly don't let that affect my picks. Frankly, I'm getting tired of the daily Derrick Rose Injury Watch. The guy is just never going to be the MVP-caliber player he was because he's brittle. It's a shame, but it is what it is. The Rose Watch is on again Tuesday night as Chicago has a tough second of a back-to-back in Denver. Here's a look at all five games on Tuesday's schedule. Three games opened at TBA because of injury questions.