NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Handicapping: Playoff Races Shaping Up in East and West
by Trevor Whenham - 2/27/2017

The All-Star Game and trade deadline has passed, so we are shifting into the home stretch of this NBA season. The playoffs are still a little ways off, but the picture of which teams will be playing in them is getting clearer. The playoff race is obviously of great interest to bettors. Teams with something serious on the line can play with heightened intensity. Teams with little on the line could find it hard to reach their full potential. It makes sense, then, to take a close look at the races as they shape up in both conferences:

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/24/2017

Pretty underwhelming trade deadline day Thursday. The Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics all were pushing hard for Paul George, but the Pacers decided to keep him -- even though it's no secret around the NBA that George will return to his hometown of L.A. when he hits free agency after next season. Boston also tried to get Jimmy Butler, but the Bulls weren't about to take a low-ball DeMarcus Cousins-type offer.

NBA Betting Advice: Are San Antonio Spurs a Serious Championship Contender?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/24/2017

I will fully admit that I was expecting the Spurs season this year to look more like two years ago than last year. I should know better by now. Two years back they still won well over 60 percent of their games, but they were third in their division and lost to the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Anything could obviously still happen going forward, but that doesn't seem like what will happen now.

NBA Handicapping and Betting: Memphis Grizzlies Quietly Getting Job Done
by Trevor Whenham - 2/24/2017

The Memphis Grizzlies are almost an invisible team. They rarely show up in national discussions and just aren't at the center of any buzz. You could forget that they are even in the league a lot of the time. Yet here they sit with a .586 win percentage, which makes them a playoff lock. They are a decent, solid squad - even if most casual fans don't notice.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/23/2017

Have you ever wanted to fire one of your siblings? I'm not sure how Jeanie Buss was able to fire brother Jim this week - and GM Mitch Kupchak -- from his role in running the Lakers since both kids are owners of the team, but the move was clearly overdue. Jeanie didn't waste any time in installing Magic Johnson as the team president, a move we all saw coming a couple of weeks ago when Magic was hired as a consultant.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/22/2017

I am still in utter disbelief that the Sacramento Kings traded All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Not so shocked that Cousins was moved as the Kings clearly didn't trust him from a character standpoint to give him a $200-plus million super-max extension this summer (he's signed through 2017-18 but can sign an extension this summer). Getting traded will cost Cousins some $30 million, by the way, because of the new CBA rules and the difference of what his original team and new team can offer. I just can't believe all the Kings could get were Buddy Hield, the Pelicans' 2017 first-round pick and some garbage.

NBA Trade Deadline Potential Buyers 2017
by Trevor Whenham - 2/20/2017

The NBA trade deadline, which comes our way on Thursday, got a whole lot more interesting on Sunday night when the New Orleans Pelicans acquired DeMarcus Cousins. Well, stole Cousins is a more accurate term, because people have gone to jail for far smaller acts of thievery than the Pelicans pulled off in that stunner. They proved that any team can be a buyer in the NBA if they are presented with a deal that is good enough - and getting a Top 15 NBA player while giving up a 23-year-old rookie who isn't developing quickly, a very replaceable veteran and a first- and second-round pick is a deal any team would take.

2017 NBA All-Star Game Expert Betting Picks and Best Prop Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 2/17/2017

The NBA All-Star festivities get underway tonight in New Orleans with the ever-polarizing NBA Celebrity All-Star Game followed up by the Rising Stars Challenge. Both games are garnering a bit more attention this year compared to prior years, but as we all know this is just an appetizer for the main course that is the real All-Star Game. This year, we get to see the East All-Stars taking on the Golden State Warriors (essentially).

2017 NBA 3-Point Contest Odds and Expert Betting Picks
by Chris Vasile - 2/16/2017

With all due respect to NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, the 3-point contest is usually the best event of the weekend. While everyone clamors about the excitement that is the Slam Dunk Contest, this event is when the superstars come out and shine.

NBA Handicapping: First-Round Playoff Exit Probably Ceiling for OKC Thunder
by Trevor Whenham - 2/16/2017

There was no shortage of stories about the potential fate of the Oklahoma City Thunder after Kevin Durant ditched them for the brighter lights of San Francisco. So, now that they have played 57 games without their superstar, how are things going for the Thunder? About how you would expect, I suspect. They aren't a bad team, but they aren't nearly the squad they were with two massively-elite players.

NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest Odds and Expert Betting Picks
by Chris Vasile - 2/15/2017

Zach LaVine is in some pretty elite company. He is just the fourth player to successfully defend his NBA Slam Dunk title. He joins the likes of some of the best high-flyers to have ever played the game. Michael Jordan went back-to-back in 1987-88, Jason Richardson did it in 2002-03, and little Nate Robinson turned the trick in 2009-10. Everything was set for LaVine to attempt to become the first player in NBA history to win three dunk titles in a row, but he declined the invite. If you are a believer in Karma then you should know what happens next. On Feb. 3, LaVine tore his ACL and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/15/2017

Two things happened around the NBA Tuesday that now make me think the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't quite such a sure thing to win the Eastern Conference for a third straight season. The first was that Cavs All-Star forward Kevin Love has been ruled out six weeks following knee surgery. Love, who is averaging 20 points and 11.1 rebounds this season, first experienced the pain during Cleveland's 125-109 win over the Nuggets on Saturday. A six-week timetable means Love would return with a couple of weeks left in the regular season.

NBA Betting Advice: Are the Washington Wizards a Legit Contender?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/15/2017

There is a team that started the season 2-8 and seemed completely, hopelessly doomed. It seemed like it was time to tear the whole thing apart and start over. And there is a team that has won 14 of their last 16, is arguably the most exciting team to watch the league right now, and is right in the middle of the playoff picture - not just making it but contending. Remarkably, both teams are the Washington Wizards.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/14/2017

By the time you read this, the Philadelphia 76ers might have traded second-year big man Jahlil Okafor. He was the team's No. 3 overall pick in 2015, taken one spot ahead of Kristaps Porzingis, which was clearly a mistake in hindsight. Okafor played well as a rookie in averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 53 outings but also had some injury and off-the-court concerns. He simply doesn't fit next to Joel Embiid and is a terrible defensive player. When Okafor is on the court, Philadelphia gives up 113.8 points per 100 possessions. Thus the Sixers are going to be taking maybe 50 cents on the dollar in dealing him.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/13/2017

While I am not particularly a Milwaukee Bucks fan, I love the NBA and enjoy watching any new rising, exciting teams play. Thus I was definitely tuning in at times to watch the Bucks as that team has the incomparable Giannis Antetokounmpo, who only leads his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The Greek Freak is the alpha dog. But to win a title in the modern-day NBA, you need a star wingman.

NBA MVP Betting Predictions with Futures Odds and Analysis
by Trevor Whenham - 2/13/2017

This year's edition of the NBA MVP race is an interesting one. We seem to be well on our way to a first-time MVP, and it should be a great race down the stretch. It's a two-way race for supremacy right now, with at least one long shot that's a little bit interesting. It has been a great season so far, and the excitement of this race surely reflects that. Here's a look at how the race breaks down (futures odds are from BetOnline):

NBA Trade Deadline: Sellers May be Teams to Bet Against
by Trevor Whenham - 2/13/2017

The Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline is drawing near. As we get closer we can't help but look for teams that are likely to be, or at least have the potential to be, sellers. The fate of those teams are not always easy to predict - a few years back the Raptors were clear sellers when they got rid of Rudy Gay and have played the franchise's best basketball ever since.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2017

The most interesting game the rest of the 2016-17 NBA regular season arrives Saturday as Kevin Durant makes his long-awaited return to Oklahoma City after jettisoning the title-contending Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in free agency. I'm still shocked he did that. There's no doubt in my mind that Durant will be booed heavily in introductions and every time he touches the ball despite all he did for that franchise. The folks in OKC justifiably, in my opinion, feel that Durant left their small-town talented team for a bigger-city championship near-lock. If you can't beat them, join them type of thing.

NBA Handicapping: Can Miami Heat Keep on Winning?
by Trevor Whenham - 2/10/2017

There are a lot of surprising things in the NBA this season. There always are. The most significant of them, though - at least in the last month - is the Miami Heat. After starting the season a truly awful 11-30, they have somehow won 12 straight games. Now they are just two games out of the final playoff spot. Strange things happen all the times in sports, but few as strange and unpredictable as this.

NBA Handicapping: Why the Los Angeles Lakers have Floundered after Hot Start
by Trevor Whenham - 2/10/2017

The last time I wrote about the Lakers was early in the season, and it was a surprisingly rosy portrait. They were playing surprisingly well, they were in playoff position early on, and it seemed like they were on strong path under the guidance of new coach Luke Walton. Soon after, though, the wheels fell off. They were 10-10 on Nov. 30. They have gone just 8-27 since. The struggles have led to some 'creative' decision making - like bringing Magic Johnson into the front office to fix everything. And rumors are floating around that Jerry West is flirting with the idea of a return, too.