NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Odds and Predictions: Saturday, January 10 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/9/2015

I learned something today. While the NBA games on TNT Thursday night aren't able to be moved, ESPN is able to flex in and out of some its scheduled games. And it already has dumped the awful Knicks twice this season and will three more times. That's awesome. New York is four games from setting a potential NBA record for futility. The Knicks have lost 11 straight games at home without scoring 100 points. The record for most consecutive home losses without hitting triple digits in the shot-clock era is 14, set by the 2011-12 Hornets and 2009-10 Nets. Here's a look at New York's matchup Saturday and every other game.

NBA Handicapping for Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans
by Trevor Whenham - 1/9/2015

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of those teams in purgatory. They are better than the hopeless cellar-dwellers but haven’t yet improved enough to be a real contender. They are probably on the right path, and they are getting some attention — thanks mostly to the true superstar at their core — but the trip to greatness for the team is far from over. Heck, the trip to mere competence is still going to be underway for a while. So, can this team be trusted to keep moving forward this year? And what does it mean for bettors?

NBA Handicapping: are the Dallas Mavericks an Elite Contender?
by George Monroy - 1/9/2015

When the Dallas Mavericks took the eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games during the first round of last year’s playoffs, most experts believed the team’s success to be an aberration based on a favorable style matchup and not a larger indicator that Dallas was ready to contend for an NBA title once again.

NBA Handicapping: Atlanta Hawks Early Success
by Trevor Whenham - 1/9/2015

The Atlanta Hawks are red hot right now. They have won six in a row and are opening up a gap atop the Eastern Conference — currently two and a half games over the Bulls and three over Washington and the plummeting Raptors. It’s an impressive start to the season. The question for bettors, though, is whether it is sustainable. Can this team continue to lead the way in the East and reward bettors as they do so? Or are they going to remember that they are the Hawks and settled back a little closer to earth?

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, January 9 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/8/2015

A couple of weeks ago when the Cavaliers were at full strength and playing well, I absolutely had circled Jan. 9 on the schedule as LeBron James and Co. made their only visit of the season to the team with the NBA's best record, Golden State. It certainly may still be an NBA Finals preview -- currently priced at +1100 as the exact matchup at Sportsbook.ag -- but the Cavaliers don't look like one of the East's best teams right now. Sadly, we also don't get to see MVP candidates James and Stephen Curry on the same court, either, with LeBron still out injured. Here's a look at that and every other game on Friday's schedule.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 1/8/2015

I have been exclusively handicapping the Washington Wizards since the start of the NBA season and releasing free weekly picks with the use of Doc’s Sports’ Unit Betting System. The primary objective behind my efforts is to help validate the betting strategy of specialization when betting on the game. So far I have headed in the wrong direction with a 3-6-1 record in my first 10 free picks, but I feel a winning streak coming on as we head into the real meat of the NBA regular season.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, January 8 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/7/2015

Unfortunately, the NBA doesn't have flex scheduling like NFL gave to NBC for its Sunday Night Football telecasts for later in each season. I say this because the New York Knicks are the most unwatchable team in the NBA now and will be going forward. But they are going to be featured on national television often simply because they play in the nation's biggest city. That's the case on Thursday when they open the TNT doubleheader against visiting Houston. Here's a look at all three games on Thursday's schedule. I'm in an underdog frame of mind.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 1/7/2015

It's time for the fourth edition of the NBA Hot and Cold Report here at Doc's Sports. Hopefully everyone had a nice holiday season and was able to make some money betting on the NBA over the past few weeks. The Atlanta Hawks have become the story of the Eastern Conference. Atlanta had little fanfare before the season, but the Hawks now have the best record in the East. Atlanta is attempting to run the team in a similar fashion as the San Antonio Spurs. I have to say, if there is a team that I'd want to follow in the footsteps of, it would certainly be the Spurs.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, January 7 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2015

Pretty stunning trade in the NBA on Monday night that should improve the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers and all but ensures the Knicks may finish with the NBA's worst record -- yes, worse than the Philadelphia 76ers. In a complete salary dump, the Knicks sent out guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert and received back ... well, nothing of immediate value. They received Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson from the Cavs and Lance Thomas from the Thunder. All three have non-guaranteed contracts and will be cut. So will center Samuel Dalembert. The moves to unload Smith, Shumpert and Dalembert will save the team more than $20 million in salary and luxury taxes.

NBA Handicapping: Houston Rockets Early Season Betting Report
by George Monroy - 1/6/2015

The Houston Rockets may be getting overlooked in a tough Western Conference that currently has Golden State, Dallas and Memphis receiving the lion’s share of the media attention. However, that lack of awareness does not take away from the fact that Houston is being powered by an MVP-caliber season from its franchise point guard James Harden, while the team’s other franchise star, Dwight Howard, deals with various injuries.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, January 6 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/5/2015

A very unusually light two-game schedule on Tuesday in the NBA this week. Might be the lightest Tuesday schedule of the year other than the All-Star Break. Did the NBA think the NCAA National Championship Game was being played on Jan. 6 or something? Nope, it has four games scheduled opposite the Oregon-Ohio State clash next Monday. Here's a look at both games on Tuesday's slate, with Suns-Bucks available for live betting at it's televised nationally on NBA TV.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, January 2 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/1/2015

It's the first NBA report of the New Year so let's start things out on a winning note. I didn't keep exact details of all the games I picked in 2014 but a rough outline, and I got more right than wrong, so that's something. The good thing about there being only two games on New Year's Night was there are no seconds of a back-to-back Friday.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 1/1/2015

Through the first few months of the NBA season I have been exclusively handicapping the Washington Wizards and releasing free weekly picks with the use of Doc’s Sports’ Unit Betting System. The primary objective behind this endeavor is to demonstrate the value of specialization as a viable betting strategy.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, December 31 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/30/2014

We have had one coach fired this season already in the Kings' Mike Malone. Could Cleveland's David Blatt be next? I doubt it, but you hear renewed reports that there are problems on the team between Blatt and his players. Apparently some players tune Blatt out at times and prefer to talk with assistant Tyronn Lue. If LeBron James wants the guy gone, he will be gone. It's worth keeping an eye on heading into 2015. Here's a look at every game on the final day of 2014. No opening line report story on Thursday with the holiday and light schedule.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, December 30 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/29/2014

There are some strong matchups on Tuesday: Cleveland-Atlanta, San Antonio-Memphis and Toronto-Portland especially stand out. So why feature the game between lottery teams Detroit and Orlando in this space? It's the first game back in central Florida for Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. He had five very successful years with the Magic, never winning less than 52 games (not counting lockout-shortened season) and reaching the 2009 NBA Finals. However, Dwight Howard forced Van Gundy out, and superstars always get their way.

NBA Futures Odds: Lots of Legit Contenders This Season at Nice Prices
by Trevor Whenham - 12/29/2014

The NBA is just ridiculously wide open this year. There are a lot of good teams but none that have yet stood out as unbeatable and seemingly destined — like the Spurs and Heat have in recent years, and the Lakers before them, for example. Just by looking at the futures odds you can see just how uncertain people are about what to expect.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Saturday, December 27 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/26/2014

Some people believe the NBA season doesn't really starts until Christmas Day even though teams have played more than a third of their regular-season games. If that's the case, what a season we are in for because you could make an argument that 12 teams could win the NBA title in my opinion. Certainly the field opened up a bit when Cleveland lost Anderson Varejao for the year. The Cavs remain +350 NBA title favorites at Sportsbook.ag, but I really don't think they should be.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, December 26 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/25/2014

The Houston Rockets should send Detroit Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy a Christmas card. Van Gundy shockingly cut Josh Smith earlier this week. Yes, Smith is a maddening, overpaid player but he's still talented if harnessed. No team claimed him on waivers, which is no shock as that club would be on the hook for the $40 million or so left on his contract.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, December 25 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/24/2014

Get ready for some funky uniforms for the five NBA Christmas Day games as the league tries to sell even more gear. This season the biggest change to the Christmas Day uniforms are that instead of the last names on the back the players will be sporting their first names. Can you understand why that would be so smart from a marketing perspective? There are a lot of boys named John or Chris in the world but not nearly as many with last names of Wall or Paul, just to name two examples. At least no sleeves this year as the jerseys last Christmas looked like pajama tops.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 12/24/2014

Specialization can be a powerful handicapping tool when it comes to betting on the NBA given the theory that the more you know about a particular team, the better you will be able to predict its future results. Doc’s Sports tasked me to put this theory to the test by spending the entire NBA season focusing my handicapping efforts solely on the Washington Wizards, while releasing weekly free picks with the use of its Unit Betting System. The long-term goal of this endeavor is to earn a solid profit betting Wizards’ games this year.