NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Odds: Tuesday, November 17 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/16/2015

Last year's Golden State Warriors had one of the greatest statistical regular seasons in NBA history. And this year's club might be better as the Warriors are 11-0 and five wins shy of breaking the record for the best start in league history. They generally have been killing people. But I don't think this team would have much of a chance against the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls club that won an NBA-record 72 games in the regular season. And former Bull Ron Harper apparently agrees with me.

NBA Handicapping Tips: Mistakes to Avoid When Betting Pro Basketball
by George Monroy - 11/13/2015

The NBA season is still very young,. And since most basketball bettors are barely settling in, it's almost impossible to have made too many betting mistakes over the last two weeks, unless, of course, you went nuts on the Los Angeles Lakers. That is something I may or may not have done (I just can't quit you, Kobe!). Since many people's attention will begin to shift toward the NBA over the next few weeks and months, let's go over some simple betting mistakes to avoid when wagering on basketball.

NBA Odds: Friday, November 13 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/12/2015

On the eve of the season, the sportsbooks offered a prop on the first NBA coach to be fired, and Sacramento's George Karl wasn't even a thought then because he had just been hired at the 2014-15 All-Star break. Yet last week when Bovada provided an update on the prop, Karl was +280 favorite. And things have only gotten worse since. Very plugged-in NBA reporter Sam Amick of USA Today is reporting Karl could be fired very soon.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 11/12/2015

The NBA season is a little more than two weeks old. Golden State is doing a nice job of showing that last year's title was no fluke. In fact, the Warriors look like a much better team than they did last year. That's a scary thought for the rest of the league. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a hot start as well, but Durant is injured again, and Thunder fans have to hope this isn't the start of another injury-riddled season for their star.

NBA Odds: Thursday, November 12 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/11/2015

I love the NBA, but sometimes I hate the NBA, especially when I get bets down early in hopes of finding value. It's why I write these stories, to give you a head start. But then there are nights like Tuesday. Kobe Bryant was supposed to play in Miami but was a late scratch with a back injury -- if you live in an NBA city other than L.A. and are planning to buy a ticket to see Kobe when the Lakers come to town, I wouldn't bother because he's going to be questionable for about every away game going forward. Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and Bradley Beal also were late scratches.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, November 11 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/10/2015

I know games this early in the NBA season don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but in some ways Wednesday night is the most interesting day of this season at least until Christmas. That's because the L.A. Clippers visit Dallas and San Antonio is in Portland. Both those games are on ESPN and will have live betting. I guarantee you there will be extra security on hand in Big D as Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is Public Enemy No. 1 there after agreeing to sign with the Mavs this summer and then changing his mind.

NBA Betting Advice: Orlando Magic ATS Report Card
by George Monroy - 11/10/2015

The Orlando Magic are in the middle of one of the hottest betting starts in the NBA right now, and most people are missing it because the basketball world is focused on the Golden State Warriors. Yeah, Steph Curry is spectacular, and, yeah, the Warriors are still undefeated, but you can keep all those highlights and advanced stats and give me the 3-5 Magic any day. Why, you might ask? Because while Golden State is a solid 5-3 ATS, Orlando currently has the best ATS mark in the league with a 7-1 record after covering seven straight games to open up the season.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, November 10 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/9/2015

So it should be an interesting night in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday because the fans there are most likely to be cheering Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant harder than any Wizards player. Of course Durant is from that area and the Wizards are definitely targeting him in free agency this summer. Most believe that if Durant doesn't re-sign with the Thunder that he will return home like LeBron James did to Cleveland.

NBA Odds: Saturday, November 7 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/6/2015

I don't write these stories Sunday for Monday -- hey, have to take one day off! -- but let's just say I'm expecting that night's game between the Clippers and Grizzlies to be really entertaining. Why? The teams don't love each other regardless, and now the Grizzlies are ticked off about a Tweet from the Clippers. It referenced Memphis' 50-point loss to the Warriors last Monday. Following L.A.'s near win over the Warriors on Wednesday, the Clippers' Twitter account posted the Memphis losing score followed by the hashtag #didntloseby50.

NBA Odds: Friday, November 6 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/5/2015

How influential is LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Let's just say you shouldn't expect to see the Cavs use sleeved jerseys the rest of the season. Cleveland debuted a new black alternate sleeved jersey against the Knicks on Wednesday. After starting the game 4-for-11 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line, James ripped open the sleeves on both arms after missing a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.

NBA Odds: Thursday, November 5 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/4/2015

We are only a week or so into the season, but there apparently is a potential trade brewing. Don't get too excited as it won't exactly alter any futures odds, but the Miami Heat have been looking to trade point guard Mario Chalmers for about a year now (after adding Goran Dragic in trade), and they might have a taker in the Memphis Grizzlies, who want a quality backup to Mike Conley. Chalmers wouldn't cost much at all and is also in the final year of his deal.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, November 4 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/3/2015

If you gave me a prop on whether the Golden State Warriors would come within five games of last year's 67-win total (they didn't even have a total of 60 at sportsbooks), then I would have bet plenty on no. Obviously it's still way early, but these Warriors look better than last year's team so far. They have scored at least 111 points in every game and won all four by at least 14 following Monday's 119-69 destruction of visiting Memphis, the worst defeat in Grizzlies history. It was the Warriors' first 50-point win since exactly 24 years earlier when the Warriors beat Sacramento 153-91 on Nov. 2, 1991.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, November 3 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/2/2015

The Lakers are in a bind. They have one of the highest ticket rates in the NBA and their huge local TV contract is partially tied to ratings. So the Lakers keep trotting Kobe Bryant out there heavy minutes because he puts fannies in the seats and eyeballs on those telecasts. But he's just not a very good player any longer. Kobe is shooting just .314 from the field overall and a ghastly .207 from 3-point range -- yet he's attempting nearly 10 3-pointers a game. Hint: stop doing that.

NBA Odds: Saturday, October 31 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/30/2015

Since I won't write another one of these until Monday for Tuesday's games, be aware that Nov. 2 is an important day around the NBA. The deadline -- which normally is Oct. 31 but was moved because that falls on a Saturday this year -- for players currently on rookie contracts to sign extensions is Monday. Already, Houston has said it won't extend Donatas Motiejunas or Terrence Jones. The biggest names in this category are Detroit's Andre Drummond, Washington's Bradley Beal and Golden State's Harrison Barnes.

NBA Odds: Friday, October 30 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/29/2015

Looking for an early candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player this season? My choice entering the year was Portland guard C.J. McCollum. He didn't play much for the Blazers for most of last season as Portland was a very good team and had a lot of depth. All that depth is gone now as the team was gutted in free agency and trades. So if Damian Lillard isn't shooting, then McCollum will be. McCollum did finish last regular season strong, averaging 15.6 points in eight April games when he started to get major minutes. And he opened the 2015-16 campaign in style with a career-high 37 points (28 in first half) in a win over New Orleans.

NBA Odds: Thursday, October 29 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/28/2015

In recent seasons, you would often see only two NBA games on Thursdays -- both televised by TNT. And while Thursdays aren't going to become ultra-busy nights like Wednesdays, Fridays or Saturdays, you likely will notice more games in 2015-16. The NBA went to TNT and basically said it needed to cut down on teams playing back-to-backs or four games in five nights. To help with that, it means more games on Thursday instead of TNT having sole possession of the schedule sometimes.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, October 28 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/27/2015

While there were just three games on Tuesday for the NBA's opening night, it's a hugely busy second night on Wednesday with 14 games -- the only two teams not playing are Atlanta and Golden State. They both opened at home Tuesday night and both happened to be top seeds in their respective conferences last season. Clearly the matchup of the night Wednesday is San Antonio at Oklahoma City, two top Western Conference contenders. That will have live betting at the sportsbooks with it televised by ESPN. So will Timberwolves at Lakers, the ESPN nightcap.

NBA Handicapping: Major Betting Story Lines to Keep an Eye On
by George Monroy - 10/27/2015

Now that the NBA season is finally here, bettors can begin to add basketball into their mix of weekly gambling. If you are one of those bettors that does not follow the NBA during the offseason or who got caught up in the NFL over the last two months, you might have a few things to catch up with before jumping right into lines and odds. A couple of things might be different in the basketball world for the upcoming 2015-16 NBA season, and bettors need to understand the landscape before assuming certain teams are still good or that others still live in lottery land. Let's take a look at biggest storylines heading into the year and figure out how they will impact bettors going forward.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, October 27 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/26/2015

Tuesday starts the best two-month or so stretch of the entire sports betting season in my opinion. That's because while college football, the NFL and NHL are still going strong, now we get the NBA season going. I've got my League Pass ready! I previewed the top NBA title contenders here at Doc's last week, but let's give one last update on futures odds at Bovada. The Cavaliers are +275 favorites to win the NBA championship; they also were favorites entering last season. San Antonio (+350), Golden State (+500) and Oklahoma City (+800) are the only other teams under +1000.

2015 Chicago Bulls Predictions and Futures Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 10/23/2015

Look, you shouldn't root for injuries to happen to any player regardless of sport (at least publicly). But if you are Bulls fan/backer, aren't you ready to see LeBron James finally suffer a major injury? It seems only fair with what Chicago has gone through over the past four years with its best player, former MVP Derrick Rose.