NBA Handicapping Articles

Free NBA Betting Picks: Season-Long Utah Jazz Analysis and Expert Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 1/5/2017

Now that the college bowl season is all but wrapped up, I am going to turn my attention to the hardwood and really focus on what I've done a few times already this season which is to give you the best possible insight and research regarding the Utah Jazz.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/4/2017

I'm not happy the bowl season is over -- Monday's National Championship Game technically isn't a bowl game -- but am somewhat glad I don't have any college football distractions on Thursday because I'll be focused on the Oklahoma City-Houston game and the spectacular matchup of the two leading MVP candidates and triple-double leaders in the NBA: Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and Rockets counterpart and former teammate James Harden. Westbrook is the slight MVP favorite at all the books, generally around +120 with Harden at +180.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/3/2017

I don't think the Rajon Rondo experiment in Chicago is going to end well for anyone involved. The Bulls were supposed to get younger and rebuild this year around Jimmy Butler. Yet they signed Rondo and then Dwayne Wade. The latter you can understand because Wade is a star who helps sell tickets and is from Chicago. But Rondo made no sense whatsoever considering he's a ball hog and that doesn't fly with the offense Coach Fred Hoiberg wants to run. Rondo got a DNP-CD on Saturday night with Michael Carter-Williams starting and then Rondo got another on Monday.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/2/2017

This might be the most entertaining NBA MVP race that I can remember with the statistical brilliance than Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook and Houston's James Harden are doing nightly. Harden's Rockets don't play Tuesday, but I have to address the ridiculousness he performed on Saturday in a 129-122 victory over the Lakers. Harden scored a career-high 53 points in 42 minutes and became the first man in league history to have at least 50 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in an NBA game.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/30/2016

This is my last NBA picks story for 2016, so what are the lasting memories of the NBA calendar year? Certainly "the Block" has to be No. 1: LeBron James' stunning block of an Andre Iguodala layup late in the fourth quarter in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. A fish may have saved Pittsburgh, as the movie goes, but that block saved Cleveland and helped bring the franchise its first NBA title. That play will live forever alongside Michael Jordan's final shot as a Bull and a few others. The past year also will be remembered for the Warriors' record-setting regular season and Steph Curry's ridiculous range.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/29/2016

Look, I don't care about Phil Jackson's love life, but I do think it has some on-court relevance now that Jackson and Lakers executive/co-owner Jeanie Buss have called off their engagement. They were engaged for four years and dated overall for 17. Jeanie wanted to bring back Jackson as the team's coach early in the 2012 season after Mike Brown was fired, and Jackson thought it was a done deal that he was coming back.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/28/2016

Kudos to Houston Rockets rookie Chinanu Onuaku. He temporarily brought the "granny style" underhanded free-throw shooting back to the NBA earlier this week, but if you follow the University of Louisville program then you know the big man also shot them there -- switching after a freshman season in which he hit only 46.7 percent. Onuaku isn't going to play much and was only called up from the D-League because of the injury to Houston center Clint Capela and was already sent back down.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/27/2016

Will the Clippers have star point guard Chris Paul for Wednesday's game? That remains to be seen. Paul strained his left hamstring in the third quarter of the Clippers' 106-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Thursday night. He sat Friday vs. Dallas, was then cleared to play in the Christmas night matchup against the Lakers but ended up sitting out again after he didn't feel comfortable while going through pregame warm-ups.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/26/2016

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to just skip the rest of the NBA season and get to a Cleveland-Golden State third straight matchup in the NBA Finals. Those two played a spectacular game on Christmas, with the Cavs rallying from a 14-point deficit to win 109-108 on a Kyrie Irving jumper with 3.4 seconds left. It was interesting the Warriors went to Kevin Durant and not Steph Curry on their last attempt, with Durant not even getting a shot off. Curry struggled, shooting just 4-for-11 with 15 points.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/22/2016

The NBA goes dark on Christmas Eve before its annual five-game regular-season showcase on Christmas Day. So perhaps it's a good time to take a look at some BetOnline futures odds. Although really nothing has changed since the preseason other than some prices. The Warriors are -130 favorites to win the NBA title and -250 to take the Western Conference for a third straight season.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/21/2016

What happened on Tuesday showed why some general manager of a contending team (ahem, Boston's Danny Ainge) should work out a trade for Kings star DeMarcus Cousins -- and also why said GM should be scared to death of getting Boogie. To recap Cousins' Tuesday: he was fined $50,000 for threatening a reporter from the Sacramento Bee over the weekend and told in no uncertain terms a suspension would be coming if it happened again. So Cousins, pretty clearly ticked off but motivated, then dropped a double-nickel (55 points) on the Trail Blazers in the Kings' win. Except it's never that easy for Cousins. In the final moments of the game, Cousins got ejected after barking at the Portland bench and his mouthpiece coming out.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 12/20/2016

Doc's Sports has done an NBA Totals Trends report in the past, and we'll be doing it again this season. This will be a bi-weekly article here on the site. We'll highlight the Top Five 'Over' and the Top Five 'Under' teams of the past couple weeks in each article. Because the NBA season is a very long, there can be some impressive streaks inside the season, and catching one of these can help build your bankroll. The statistics for this article are for games from Dec. 2 through Dec. 19.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/20/2016

Stan Van Gundy is definitely one of the more entertaining head coaches in the NBA. And with his Pistons currently struggling, you can expect a lineup change for Wednesday's game against Memphis. What will that be? I have no idea. But after Monday's ugly loss against Chicago, Van Gundy said rather humorously afterward: "I guarantee you on Wednesday we're not trotting that five out there" regarding his starting five.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/19/2016

Do I think the NBA is too reliant on the 3-point shot these days? I do, although I wouldn't go as far as Charles Barkley did not too long ago in calling it "girly basketball" when he referred to the jump-shooting Golden State Warriors. Well, no team relies on the 3-pointer more than the Houston Rockets, who average a whopping 38.9 attempts per game. Four Rockets are in the Top 10 in 3-pointers attempted. Last Friday in a win over New Orleans, the Rockets set league records for attempts for attempts (61) and made 3-pointers (24).

NBA Handicapping: Toronto Raptors Hot for Bettors
by Trevor Whenham - 12/16/2016

The Toronto Raptors are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference after winning four in a row, and their nine wins in their last 10 is matched only by Houston. They are dialed in. But does that mean that they will be legitimate contenders by the time the playoffs roll around? Or are they forever consigned to the role of a very good team that just isn't quite good enough when it really matters? And are they a team that bettors should love or avoid? Here are six factors to consider when pondering those questions:

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/16/2016

The New Orleans Pelicans don't play Saturday night, but they might become a pretty decent bet going forward. The Pels have been very competitive whenever starting point guard Jrue Holiday has been in the lineup, which hasn't been all that often yet due to some personal leave and minor injuries. And on Thursday, the team welcomed back its third-best player in swingman Tyreke Evans. It was his first game in nine months.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/15/2016

My second-favorite sport to watch and bet on after football -- I group the NFL and NCAA into one -- is the NBA. I follow it passionately, and that's the sport I hoped to play as a kid. But I'm glad I don't live in a city with a team. Why? I would definitely plan to go to many games, only to likely be frustrated when the opposing team decided to rest a key guy or two because apparently multi-millionaires aren't expected to work every day.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/14/2016

So Thursday is an important day for the future of the NBA as the owners and NBA Players' Association both have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. The current deal, borne from the 2011 lockout, was a 10-year agreement with the opt-out window after five years. That's going to happen, but it won't affect this season as the sides would have until the end of June to negotiate a new contract.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/13/2016

Big men who can't shoot from range have lost a ton of value in the NBA in the past few years with 3-pointers skyrocketing. Back when the Houston Rockets signed 7-footer Omer Asik as a restricted free agent following his breakout 2011-12 season with Chicago, it looked like a smart deal. But guys like Asik are almost dinosaurs nowadays. Asik is now with New Orleans and isn't even playing an average of 18 minutes a night. He'll give you good defense and rebounding, but the Pelicans have officially put him on trading block because they want to play up tempo and Asik can't do that. The problem with finding a taker is that Asik is due more than $33 million over the next three seasons, which is too high even in the cash-flush league. But if the Pelicans take a similar contract back, they probably will find a club willing to deal.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/12/2016

I thought that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be one of the most improved teams in the NBA this season and perhaps could sniff the final playoff spot in the Western Conference after hiring Tom Thibodeau as the team's new head coach (and personnel boss) this offseason. So far, it hasn't gone well for Thibs and the Wolves, but they'll be really good within a couple of years. And I think it's fair to say if there's one victory this season that Thibodeau wants for his team and perhaps more for himself is Tuesday when Minnesota visits Chicago.