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Miami Heat's Wayne Ellington


by Aaron Smith - 2/2/2018

January is in the rear-view mirror, and the NBA All Star Break is right around the corner. The big story this week is Blake Griffin being traded to Detroit. It will be interesting to see how the Pistons do with Andre Drummond and Griffin in the same frontcourt. The Clippers appear to be rebuilding once again.

Jabari Parker Milwaukee Bucks


by Alan Matthews - 2/1/2018

I truly can't remember a newsier NBA week than this one other than right at the trade deadline. It has been mostly bad news for teams (DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Kevin Love - more on that Saturday), but it's potentially fantastic news for the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. They are set to welcome back Jabari Parker from his torn ACL. The former Duke star and No. 2 overall pick in 2014, has not played since tearing the ACL in his left knee for the second time on Feb. 8, 2017. He was having by far his best season last year, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. Needless to say, Parker's minutes will be restricted for a while, and he may not play both ends of a back-to-back all season.

Andre Drummond Detroit Pistons


by Alan Matthews - 1/31/2018

What a crazy NBA week it has been already! I was flabbergasted that the Clippers traded superstar Blake Griffin on Monday to the Detroit Pistons. The Clippers also sent salary filler Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to Detroit, while the Pistons shipped Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, and a first- and second-round draft pick to L.A. Protections on Detroit's first-round pick include 1-4 in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and unprotected in 2021. That pick will almost surely convey this summer, though, because I expect Detroit to make the playoffs in the weak East now barring injury to Griffin or Andre Drummond (now the East's best 4-5 combination?).

Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers


by Alan Matthews - 1/30/2018

Now that we are about into February, I think the teams trying to tank will really separate themselves at the bottom of the NBA. A new entrant to this category is the Memphis Grizzlies. You have to give credit to that small-market franchise because ownership always tried to be competitive and never did a full-out tank job like the Philadelphia 76ers. The Grizzlies made the playoffs each of the past seven years but never past the conference semifinals. Over the weekend, GM Chris Wallace announced some news that should have surprised no one: star point guard Mike Conley will miss the rest of the season to have surgery on his left heel.

DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers


by Alan Matthews - 1/29/2018

With the Trail Blazers visiting the Clippers on Tuesday night, it's a good time to look at updated trade rumors involving L.A. center DeAndre Jordan, who can opt out of his contract this summer for free agency and absolutely will do so. Portland is reportedly looking into Jordan, which is interesting because the Blazers already have a good center in Jusuf Nurkic - although perhaps he would be a key piece going back; Nurkic, though, is a restricted free agent this summer. Portland can also offer $5.1 million in cash to a team in a trade.

Draymond Green Golden State Warriors


by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2018

In honor of the Boston-Golden State mega-matchup on Saturday night, it begs the question: Why don't other teams get creative when hiring their head coaches? Brad Stevens did a fabulous job at Butler, but he had zero NBA experience when Danny Ainge put him in charge of the NBA's most storied franchise. That has proven to be a grand-slam hire. Stevens became the Celtics' first coach with no NBA experience of any kind since Alvin "Doggie" Julian gave way to franchise icon Red Auerbach in 1950. One year after the Stevens hire, the Warriors pushed aside successful coach Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr.

Los Angeles Clippers Center DeAndre Jordan


by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2018

By the time you read this, the two NBA All-Star teams will be completed as the captain's picks by LeBron James and Steph Curry were to be unveiled on Thursday night. For once, I think that the fans/media/coaches got the 10 starters exactly right. There are a few guys who were obvious snubs among the reserves. The biggest one might be Clippers sixth man Lou Williams, who is having a career year and a huge reason why L.A. is in the playoff hunt despite both Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan missing time with injuries.

Hassan Whiteside Miami Heat


by Alan Matthews - 1/24/2018

We might be too deep into the NBA season for any of Doc's affiliated sportsbooks to post a "Next NBA Coach to be Fired" prop, but I could be wrong. Milwaukee gave Jason Kidd the pink slip on Monday (Kidd is the third coach fired so far this season), which was a dangerous choice because superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly loved Kidd and offered to try and save his job with ownership. You never want to upset your franchise player, especially when you are a small-market team lucky enough to even have one.

Los Angeles Clippers Center Montrezl Harrell


by Alan Matthews - 1/23/2018

Michael Jordan obviously is the best basketball player to ever live, but his NBA ownership skills have left a lot to be desired. There are 15 teams in the NBA this season with a total team payroll higher than $115 million. The Hornets are the only one of those 15 with a losing record, and they have more than $118 in salary committed to the 2018-19 season already. Guys like Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller are on bad contracts.

Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder


by Alan Matthews - 1/22/2018

When you are tanking, one loss/win can mean a huge difference in terms of percentage of winning the NBA Draft Lottery, and the 2018 draft class looks absolutely loaded at the top. There's a Tankapalooza game in Orlando on Tuesday between the Kings and Magic. I tip my cap to Kings management because they aren't even hiding their intentions the rest of the way. Last week, Coach Dave Joerger, no doubt on orders from management, announced he would be sitting two of his veterans every game the rest of the season on a rotating basis. That does two things: Helps the club lose more and gets the young guys some needed playing time.

Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder


by Alan Matthews - 1/19/2018

This past offseason, NBA commissioner Adam Silver made a few changes in the wake of teams resting stars during nationally-televised games last season. For one, the 2017-18 season started a week early to cut down on back-to-backs and three-in-four-nights scenarios. Second, Silver can now fine teams at least $100K for resting healthy players in high-profile games. Finally, the NBA also protected 22 "marquee" national TV games in which participating teams would not be involved in a back-to-back or five-games-in-seven-nights scenarios. In addition, no team will have traveled more than 3,500 miles in the seven days before the game.

Lebron James Cleveland Cavaliers


by Aaron Smith - 1/18/2018

The Cleveland Cavs are only 26-17 on the year. The Cavs defense has been a major problem all year. They have been burning money in a big way. Cleveland is a miserable 12-30-1 against the spread so far this season. It's hard to believe that a team with LeBron James on it is that bad ATS on the season. It will be interesting to see how this team plays in the next month or two as Isaiah Thomas tries to get accustomed to being on the floor with Cleveland.

DeMar DeRozan Toronto Raptors


by Alan Matthews - 1/18/2018

As an NBA handicapper, no team aggravates me more than the San Antonio Spurs. You almost never see an early line on their games because you never know what Gregg Popovich will do in regards to playing time - whether a guy is really hurt or not. Well, look for a lot more TBAs on Spurs games for a while as the team has ruled out superstar Kawhi Leonard indefinitely as he continues to rehab his right quadricep tendinopathy.

Wesley Matthews Dallas Mavericks


by Chris Vasile - 1/18/2018

So far this NBA season has been nothing short of wacky and wild. Just this last week alone, NBA players introduced us to their own version of Fight Club. It started on Monday when tempers flared between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. Not only did it get chippy on the court, but several Rockets players were caught storming the home team's locker room in an attempt to get at Blake Griffin and Austin Rivers. No punches were thrown, and two Rockets have since been suspended two games each. The main event happened the other night when haymakers were thrown by Arron Afflalo in a game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves. While all this makes for entertaining television, the only thing that players should be concerned about is their team's upcoming playoff run.

Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers


by Alan Matthews - 1/17/2018

Look, I watch ESPN probably as much if not more than most sports fans/bettors. But, I'll admit the network irritates me at times when it tries to create news out of thin air. Anything with LaVar Ball, for example. The latest comes from Cleveland, which I believe is the only team that has full-time coverage from a network reporter (pretty sure the Warriors don't). The Cavs are in a major funk and were swept in the regular-season series by the Dubs on Monday night.

Kyrie Irving Boston Celtics


by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2018

We are over the summit and heading down the backside of the hill towards the end of the regular season in the NBA. Teams have played enough by now that we have a large enough sample size to get a sense of how teams are performing against the spread. Things can and will change down the stretch, but we have seen enough to get a sense of which teams are kind to bettors' money and which ones seem to hate profits. Here is a look at the four biggest betting studs of the NBA season to date as well as the four biggest duds.

Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans


by Chris Vasile - 1/17/2018

As the calendar hits mid-January the NBA regular season reached the halfway point, and there are a few surprises to speak of. For starters, nobody expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to play as badly as we've come to witness. Sure, they will still finish as one of the top teams in the East, but they are money burners when it comes to betting on them against the spread.

Blake Griffin Los Angeles Clippers


by Alan Matthews - 1/16/2018

Monday was an important day in the NBA because certain players became eligible to be traded by their teams. I'm not going to pretend I understand all the legal mumbo jumbo in the collective bargaining agreement, but basically the Jan. 15 date involved players who re-signed with their previous team this offseason, got a raise of at least 20 percent, had a salary worth more than the minimum and their team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign them.

Devin Booker Phoenix Suns


by Alan Matthews - 1/15/2018

Did you think that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge already had landed his white whale in Kyrie Irving? You would be wrong. It's not exactly a secret around the NBA that Ainge covets Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis. Last season, Pelicans GM Dell Demps spoke directly to Davis about Celtics rumors. "He told me that [Boston] was calling, but nothing was going to happen," Davis said. "At the same time, though, you see how organizations treat players. Isaiah Thomas. DeMarcus [Cousins] told me that the [Kings] told him that he wasn't going to get traded, but they traded him. Isaiah took his team to the Eastern Conference finals, and they traded him."

Los Angeles Clippers Center DeAndre Jordan


by Alan Matthews - 1/12/2018

The Minnesota Timberwolves are thrilled with the Jimmy Butler trade they made with the Bulls during last summer's NBA Draft. Butler is playing like an MVP candidate, and the Timberwolves are a lock to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. They wouldn't change that deal. The Bulls are quite happy, too, as Kris Dunn has taken a huge step forward in Chicago and Finnish rookie Lauri Markkanen could be a future All-Star. However, the key piece of that deal coming back to the Bulls - at least it was thought at the time - was high-flying former Slam Dunk champion Zach LaVine.

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