NBA Handicapping Articles

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/19/2017

Have we seen the last of the Los Angeles Clippers as Western Conference contenders? As currently constructed, I believe we have. I really would have liked to have seen what this team could do in the playoffs with everyone healthy at once, but it never seemed to work out that way. The latest injury to hit the team was All-Star point guard Chris Paul, in the midst of one of his best seasons, undergoing thumb surgery on Wednesday following a Monday injury.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/18/2017

Should we start including Boston's Isaiah Thomas in the MVP conversation with Russell Westbrook and James Harden? Thomas, who was taken last (No. 60 overall) in the 2011 draft by Sacramento, is carrying the Celtics as one of the league's Top 4 scorers. He has been even better in the fourth quarter, as entering Wednesday Thomas was averaging 10.1 points in the fourth quarter this season. The NBA has only been tracking fourth-quarter points for 20 years, and the record for a season is 9.5 by the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in 2006.

NBA Betting Advice and Handicapping: Studs and Duds against the Point Spread
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2017

Give or take, we are at the halfway point of the NBA season. That means that it's an excellent time to check in on where we are at from a betting perspective so far. Which teams have been the best at covering spreads? Which ones have struggled? And, most importantly, are the teams likely to continue on the path they have been on? Here are a look at the betting studs and duds of the first half of this season:

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/17/2017

"The boss wants to see you." That's generally not a sentence you want to hear, no matter your profession. And when you hear of an owner of a sports team giving his head coach a vote of confidence, that's not usually going to end well for said coach. However, Pistons coach/president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy did get the dreaded vote of confidence from team owner Tom Gores recently.

NBA Handicapping: Celtics Making a Move to Top of Eastern Conference
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2017

Entering the season, the Eastern Conference of the NBA sure felt like a three-team affair, with Toronto and Boston trying to find a way to chip away at the immovable force that is Cleveland. Well, it took awhile for the Celtics to find their way, but at the halfway point of the season that is exactly where we sit. The Cavs are in charge, but their Monday night massacre at the hands of the Warriors gave other teams hope. Toronto has the most efficient offense in the league, and the Celtics are red hot. It is precisely the race we were hoping for, and it promises to be fun down the stretch.

NBA Betting Advice: What to Make of Philadelphia 76ers Recent Surge
by Trevor Whenham - 1/17/2017

The Philadelphia 76ers have long been a joke. And not a particularly funny one. They still are a long way from good - at 13-26 there are only two teams worse than them in the Eastern Conference, and the +100,000 championship futures odds price at BetOnline is lower than only the Nets. But they have won six of their last eight, are showing confidence for the first time in a long time, and are playing like, well, an NBA team.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/16/2017

I have to be honest in that I really enjoy watching the New York teams struggle, although it doesn't affect my handicapping judgment. Simply don't like the city or most people from there, at least those who act like NYC is the center of the universe and they are better than everyone else. Thus the fact that the Nets are the worst team in the NBA and on a 10-game losing streak and the Knicks are imploding, with Carmelo Anthony whining that Phil Jackson doesn't perhaps want him around any longer, both make me giddy.

Expert NBA Handicapping: Deciphering the Mess that is the New York Knicks
by Trevor Whenham - 1/16/2017

As a coach Phil Jackson may be the best ever - and he has 11 championships earned as a coach with two teams to prove it. As a president, though, he is on track to be one of the worst of all time. His positive achievements in New York so far since taking over in March of 2014 pretty much consist of drafting Kristaps Porzingis. Most everything else has turned into piles of garbage of various sizes - from coaching maneuvering to personnel decisions from trades to contracts to draft picks. Jackson just isn't very good at this job, and he wouldn't still have this job if he wasn't a legend.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/13/2017

I don't generally write a Monday Opening Line Report story here at Doc's because, hey, we all need one day off. That said, arguably the second-most anticipated game remaining in the regular season -- I would argue No. 1 is Golden State at Oklahoma City on Feb. 11 in Kevin Durant's first game back in OKC -- is Monday night when Cleveland visits Golden State.

NBA Handicapping: Utah Jazz Succeeding on Court but Not at Betting Window
by Trevor Whenham - 1/12/2017

The Western Conference of the NBA has had no shortage of disappointing potential contenders this year - Minnesota, Denver, Dallas, and New Orleans are all walking, jumping train wrecks who entered with at least some version of playoff aspirations.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/12/2017

I guess we can put those rumors of the Sacramento Kings trading franchise player DeMarcus Cousins to bed. Cousins is signed through next season, and if he told the Kings he was leaving then, they probably would have no recourse but to trade Cousins. However, Cousins is eligible to sign an extension this summer, and the Kings are going to give him the max offer possible, a nice five-year, $207 million extension (dollars could change slightly depending on where the official cap number lands).

NBA Wagering Advice: Teams that Could Be Hot Bets Down the Stretch
by Trevor Whenham - 1/11/2017

We are not quite at the midpoint of the NBA season, but we are close enough. The turn of the calendar to the New Year is significant in the NBA. We have seen enough games played that, for the most part, we have a sense of which teams are for real and which ones aren't. We know, for example, that the Warriors and Cavs are likely heading to yet another rematch, with the Spurs and Rockets the biggest threats to Golden State in the West and no one in the East seeming quite good enough to really threaten the champs.

NBA Betting Advice: Houston Rockets Setting World on Fire Three Points at a Time
by Trevor Whenham - 1/11/2017

The Houston Rockets, it seems, are back. After winning 54 games two years in a row the team limped to just a 41-41 record last year and were no match for Golden State in the playoffs. Major changes were in order, and that's what the team got - new coach, shifted roster, major spotlight on James Harden, and so on.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/11/2017

The NBA has done a fabulous job marketing its sport globally and it's far more popular around the world than the NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball are -- although part of that is basketball is a more universal game, too. But the league's efforts to draw new fans continues with a game in London on Thursday between the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/10/2017

You have to love youth. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, the clear leader for NBA Rookie of the Year and a likely future multiple-time All-Star, said after Sunday's win at Brooklyn with a straight face that he thought the 76ers could make the playoffs. Let's not put the cart before the horse, big man. It's nice that the 76ers already have 10 wins, matching last season's total. This team has some really intriguing young pieces, and I can't wait to see Philadelphia whenever Ben Simmons is able to debut this season.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/9/2017

Often it just takes one trade in the NBA to sort of jump-start the trading season. The Cleveland Cavaliers definitely got better over the weekend in adding Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver without giving up anything of current value. Now you are starting to hear plenty of other trade rumors. One that could happen soon is Phoenix, which is in full-blown rebuilding mode, trading center Tyson Chandler to disappointing Portland.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2017

I doubt we see a ton of big names traded by the Feb. 23 deadline in the NBA, although it appears Kyle Korver is on his way to Cleveland, but I think it's all but a sure thing that the Dallas Mavericks will deal center Andrew Bogut. The Mavs signed Bogut to a one-year, $11 million free-agent deal this past offseason, but they have gone totally in the tank and there's no reason to keep him around. Bogut is injury-prone but still an excellent defender, rebounder and passer.

NBA Championship Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 1/6/2017

We are not quite halfway through the NBA season, but we are getting close. That means we have seen enough basketball to start to get a sense of what is likely to happen. Spoiler alert - not much has really changed. Heading into the season it seemed like we had a looming, nearly inevitable clash of the titans for the title. Now? Same thing - more than ever, really. The cast of contenders is perhaps slightly different than expected, but no team has done enough to make us think that fate won't be realized. Here's a look at how things set up, with futures odds from BetOnline:

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 1/5/2017

The NBA feels top-heavy this year. I think there are only four or five teams that have a real chance at winning the NBA title. There also aren't a lot of teams that are in the terrible category this year. There is a big heap in the middle of the pack. You can expect to see quite a battle for the last couple playoff spots later this year. Having said that, it doesn't feel like a year where those teams who sneak into the playoffs will give the top seeds much trouble at all.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/5/2017

The worst game on the schedule in terms of current quality of teams Friday night has to be Heat at Lakers. It feels like forever ago, but it really hasn't been that long since it would have been one of the marquee regular-season games of the year with LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant. It's still such a shame those two never squared off in the NBA Finals as Kobe's career was trending downward when LeBron's was blowing up.