NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, February 26 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/25/2015

Just the two NBA on TNT games on this Thursday's schedule, but they are pretty big ones. There's a potential NBA Finals preview between the Warriors and Cavaliers in Cleveland to open the doubleheader. That is the +300 favored exact Finals matchup on Sportsbook.ag. Then the Thunder visit the Suns in the nightcap as those two are fighting for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. I fully expect Oklahoma City to take that no matter how long Kevin Durant is out.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, February 25 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/24/2015

There hasn't been much reason for fans in Minneapolis to see their awful Timberwolves this season in person, but you can expect a sellout on Wednesday as the fans welcome back the greatest player in franchise history, Kevin Garnett. He's expected to finally make his debut after being acquired from Brooklyn last week. Don't be surprised if KG is part of a group that buys the Wolves here in the few years as well. Here's a look at every game on Wednesday's schedule.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, February 24 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/23/2015

It was interesting to watch the Miami Heat futures odds over the past few days. They got a major boost after Thursday's trade for Phoenix point guard Goran Dragic but then changed dramatically, and not in a good way, with the news that star forward Chris Bosh would miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his lung. Would the Heat have still traded for Dragic had they known that beforehand? Hard to say. And will it affect Dragic's choice of whether to re-sign there? Bosh is expected to be fine for next season. No Heat game on Tuesday but here's a look at each matchup.

NBA Handicapping: Betting on the Philadelphia 76ers after the Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

The popular wisdom after the trade deadline — and before it really — is that Sam Hinkie has lost his mind and that the Philadelphia 76ers are spinning completely out of control. They trade away any player they get who seems to have any potential, they accumulate draft picks in bulk, there are teams with payrolls for their stadium ushers that are higher than what Philadelphia pays their team, they are openly and aggressively tanking, and they have waived more players this year than some teams have played.

NBA Handicapping: Teams that Improved at the Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

That was an absolutely brilliant NBA trade deadline from a fan perspective. As entertaining as it could possibly be. The fireworks started early, and they didn’t let up until the last possible second. There were huge deals galore, a lot of teams that improved dramatically, and some that just made bizarre decisions.

NBA Betting: Teams that got Worse at the Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

Usually it is the NHL trade deadline that is the one to watch because of the big deals and bigger risks teams take in an attempt to make themselves better now or in the future — almost never both. This year, though, the NBA’s deadline was so incredibly good that there is little chance that the NHL will be able to match it. The NBA deadline featured a ridiculous amount of deals. What was striking, though, is that for every player we knew was moving — Goran Dragic or Reggie Jackson, for example, there were several that were a total surprise.

NBA Handicapping: Buyouts on the Horizon
by Trevor Whenham - 2/22/2015

The NBA trade deadline season brings another burst of activity — buyouts. They aren’t directly tied to the trade deadline, but the timing overlaps — in order for a player to be available for playoff action he needs to be waived by March 1. Also, the most common type of player to be bought out is one who has been traded — typically to a non-contender. So, why are players bought out? Well, most often either a team going nowhere will dump salary to get their salary cap situation in line — like the Knicks are doing now — or a team will trade for a player they don’t want in order to acquire another asset like a pick they do want, and then they buy out the contract.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Saturday, February 21 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/20/2015

What an awesome trade deadline we had on Thursday. Sure, there was no true superstar dealt, but for the final 30 minutes or so before the 3 p.m. ET deadline things went nuts. I had the ESPN and NBA.com blogs going live, and I couldn't keep up. In my opinion, the big winners were Miami (Goran Dragic), Oklahoma City (Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin), Portland (Arron Afflalo) and Detroit (Reggie Jackson). Thought Utah got robbed and the 76ers somehow are going into even deeper tank mode.

NBA Handicapping: Three-Point Shooting and ATS Results
by George Monroy - 2/20/2015

Three-point shooting has become all the rage in the NBA over the last couple of years. The change in the way teams approach offense can probably be traced back to coach Gregg Popovich’s space-and-shoot approach that has kept the San Antonio Spurs relevant for nearly two decades. Two other influences behind the heavy 3-point-shooting approach has been the resurgence of point guards in the NBA to go along with the advanced-metrics revolution.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, February 20 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/19/2015

One of the busiest nights of the season on Friday with 26 of the 30 teams in action on the first full day after the break. This story was be posted right after Thursday's NBA trade deadline, so a handful of deals affected several game odds, taking some off the board. Some of the trades, like Phoenix sending out Goran Dragic, were expected. Some were not. It was a great, but crazy, afternoon. Here's a look at each matchup, but lines will be in flux because you don't know if the traded guys will be cleared to play in time Friday.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 2/19/2015

Specialization can be a viable betting strategy when it comes to wagering on the NBA. To help prove this point, I have been exclusively handicapping Washington all season long and releasing free weekly picks for the Wizards with the use of Doc’s Sports Unit Betting System. The results heading into this past weekend’s NBA All Star break have been mixed with an overall record of 7-8-1, but I have had some success with my total line picks for this team.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, February 19 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/18/2015

With the week off for the NBA All-Star Break, the various sportsbooks have released a few updated season odds. For example, on Bovada's NBA MVP odds, Golden State's Stephen Curry is the -200 favorite. I can't really argue with the best player on the league's best team, but I would say that Houston's James Harden (+350) is a bit more deserving as he has had to carry Houston a lot more this season than Curry had to the Warriors.

NBA Handicapping: Why Milwaukee Bucks are one of Best ATS Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It comes as no surprise that the Hawks and the Warriors, the teams that lead the two conferences but are running away with them with their consistently excellent play, are two of the three best teams in the NBA against the spread. What is far more surprising, though, is that sandwiched between those two superpowers when it comes to ATS performance is the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee — where basketball careers have long gone to die.

NBA Handicapping: George Karl and the Sacramento Kings
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It’s only the all-star break, and yet the Sacramento Kings are about to play under their third head coach of the season. At least in theory the hiring of George Karl should provide some stability and stop the carousel of coaches this year and well into the future. This is the Kings we are talking about, though, so stability and success is not only far from certain but perhaps even unlikely. Karl is better-positioned than most coaches, though — and certainly better positioned than Ty Corbin was — to have some success for this team.

NBA Wagering Tips: Solid ATS Teams after the Break
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It’s not at all uncommon to see a good, established NBA team struggle early in the season — either straight up or just against the spread — but then they tighten things up and perform much better after the all-star break when the end is in sight and things really start to matter. Teams that have been a real betting disappointment for much of the year can, for a number of different reasons, turn into a betting delight in the final third of the season. Bettors who can spot the teams that are poised to improve can be in line to cap off their seasons very well.

NBA Betting Advice: Teams Poised for Cold ATS Streak after Break
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

The NBA all-star break can be a pivot point for the season. Players and coaches get a chance to step away from the season for a few days and regroup. After the break the playoff hunt really gets serious and the true contenders start to focus on what matters. Often, then, we see teams that have been very successful against the spread before the break struggle to be quite so profitable — or profitable at all, for that matter — after the break. Bettors who are able to deduce which teams could be in line for a downward adjustment could profit nicely.

NBA Handicapping: Atlanta Hawks as Serious Championship Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 2/16/2015

Heading into the All-Star break the Atlanta Hawks were grudgingly the biggest story and the best team in the NBA. At 43-11 they posted the second-best pre-All-Star game record in league history. That outstanding start included a 19-game winning streak and an undefeated (17-0) month of January, which resulted in the team’s starting five being named, collectively, as the league’s “player of the month” for their record-setting start to 2015.

NBA Futures Odds: Shopping for the Best Betting Lines
by Dave Schwab - 2/16/2015

The NBA remains on break for most of this week following its annual All-Star Game, and many of the biggest sportbooks in the industry have taken this time to update their futures odds to win the Eastern and Western Conferences as well as this season’s NBA Championship.

NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest Betting Odds and Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2015

For my money, the three-point contest is not only the best part of NBA All-Star Weekend but the best part of any all-star festivities in any sport. It’s a pure skill test, not ruined by gimmicks or silly judging. The best shooters compete, and the best of the best on that day win. Outstanding. The history of this contest, which started in 1985, is very bright. Larry Bird won the first three editions. Craig Hodges won three in a row and then tried for a fourth even though he wasn’t in the NBA that year. Hornacek, Ray Allen, Stojakovic twice, Nowitzki, Pierce, Love, Irving — unlike the dunk contest, the stars have always come out for this one.

NBA Handicapping: Betting on the Inconsistent Los Angeles Clippers
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2015

The Los Angeles Clippers have not had the dream season that they were hoping to in what was a reasonably wide-open Western Conference this year. Their 35-19 record is nothing to cry over, but they sit only sixth in the conference, they are just 5-5 in their last 10 games, and they have seemed to spend a fair bit of this season looking like they were running through mud. And then there is the drama around the team — like most recently when Chris Paul made some odd and ill-advised comments about a female referee.