NBA Handicapping Articles

Betting Impact of Mike D’Antoni Hire by Lakers
by T.O. Whenham - 11/13/2012

I woke up this morning sure I was going to be writing an article about the hiring of Phil Jackson in L.A. and the betting impact that would have on the Lakers going forward. Imagine my surprise, then, to be writing instead about new boss Mike D’Antoni.

NBA Betting Surprises
by T.O. Whenham - 11/13/2012

The NBA season is still very young. It seems that this year, even more than most, has been very active and very educational, though. No matter how prepared you are heading into the season there will inevitably be surprises as the season gets underway. Here are six of the biggest NBA Betting surprises for me of this season so far:

NBA Picks for Thursday TNT: Oklahoma City at Chicago Predictions and Odds
by Alan Matthews - 11/7/2012

Almost 80 percent of the Chicago Bulls’ games were on national television last year. Not a surprise considering the Bulls had the league’s reigning MVP and had won the most games in the NBA in 2010-11. This year, less than 33 percent of Chicago’s games will be nationally televised, and that’s 100 percent due to the injury of Derrick Rose.

NBA Betting and Handicapping: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 11/5/2012

I realize the new NBA season is just a week old, but is it time to worry about the two Western Conference favorites? The defending conference champion Thunder are 1-2 following Sunday’s 104-95 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, who were playing without star forward Josh Smith because of a sprained right ankle. Of course the Thunder made the stunning trade on the eve of the season, sending James Harden to Houston (more on him in a minute).

Four Important Storylines Heading into the 2012-13 NBA Season
by George J Monroy - 10/30/2012

The NBA season is finally here. NBA junkies will get a full 82-game, six-month regular season. Most fans do not begin to pay attention to the NBA until after Christmas, but for those sports bettors that are salivating at the thought of spending the next three months with a full plate of NFL, NCAAF and NBA games to bet on, here is a quick look at four of the biggest storylines heading into the season.

2012-13 NBA MVP Odds and Betting Predictions
by George J Monroy - 10/30/2012

The NBA MVP award can be extremely subjective during certain years. NBA sportswriters and media members get to decide who the most valuable player is, and while there are no set criteria on what ‘most valuable’ actually means, some players have more of an inside track than others.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Celtics at Heat Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/29/2012

It’s the first NBA preview of the new season, and you can’t ask for a much better opener than when Boston visits Miami in a rematch of last season’s epic Eastern Conference Finals series. Boston looked in command of that series with a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 in Boston, but LeBron James had one of the great playoff games in history with 45 points (19-for-26 from the field), 15 rebounds and five assists as Miami blew out the Cs 98-79 to force a Game 7 back in South Florida.

2012-13 NBA Predictions: Atlantic Division Preview and Betting Odds
by Aaron Smith - 10/29/2012

Many divisions in the NBA have clear-cut favorites, but the Atlantic Division will be among the most competitive in the league. The Heat will win the Southeast and the Lakers will win the Pacific. The Atlantic Division has no such big favorite that will run away with the division. The Celtics had a bit of a rocky ride last year, but they were still good enough to top the division. The Knicks had team chemistry issues, and they barely squeaked into the playoffs. Philadelphia was a nice surprise, and the 76ers played great in the playoffs.

2012-13 NBA Predictions: Southwest Division Preview and Betting Odds
by Ricky Dimon - 10/23/2012

The story of the NBA’s Southwest Division in 2012-13 is the old trying to hold off the young. One of those “young” teams, Memphis, has already broken onto the scene. Can the Grizzlies go one step further and overtake San Antonio as the cream of the crop? One of those “old” teams, Dallas, has seemingly started a descent. Can Dirk Nowitzki return from injury and lead the Mavericks back to the playoffs?

2012-13 NBA Predictions: Pacific Division Preview and Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 10/18/2012

Is there really much of a point in previewing the NBA’s Pacific Division for the upcoming season? The Los Angeles Lakers won it for the fifth straight time a year ago, and all they did this offseason was add future Hall of Famers Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to go with two other future Hall of Famers in Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. The Lakers, who really only lost Andrew Bynum (and Howard is an upgrade), are now the Miami Heat of the West Coast.

2012-13 NBA Predictions: Northwest Division Preview and Betting Odds
by Ricky Dimon - 10/18/2012

There’s Oklahoma City…and then there’s everyone else. That’s the simple nature of things in the NBA’s Northwest Division. The first question is not if, but by how many games will the Thunder win it. The other questions simply deal with how many teams the Northwest can fit into the Western Conference Playoffs.

2012-13 NBA Predictions: Southeast Division Preview and Betting Odds
by Ricky Dimon - 10/12/2012

One team does not a division make. The Southeast Division may be home to the reigning NBA Champions, but there’s a reason why the Heat are once again such an overwhelming favorite at the expense of Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, and Washington. And it’s not because they are damn good.

Dwight Howard Trade Alters NBA Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/13/2012

There has been a weekend to digest the trade through the mainstream media. Now the sportsbooks have adjusted their odds and bettors have had a crack at them. Let’s look at some props unveiled by Bovada in the wake of this trade:

2013 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/3/2012

OK, five bonus points if you can honestly say you knew that the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award was officially called the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy and that you also knew Gottlieb was a former coach and owner of the Philadelphia Warriors. He was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972 as a contributor to the game.

2012 NBA Draft Betting: Props and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/27/2012

And you thought the NBA betting season was finished? Not so fast, my friend. Bovada has rolled out a handful of props for Thursday night’s NBA Draft, the official end to the basketball season (although we are treated to Olympic basketball this year).

2013 NBA Finals Predictions with Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 6/22/2012

LeBron James and the rest of the Miami Heat are no doubt still partying hard on South Beach less than 24 hours after the Heat won the franchise’s second NBA title and LeBron’s first in three Finals tries by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a surprising five games. OKC had been around a -170 series favorite heading in and that jumped to around -250 when it won Game 1. But the Heat won the final four, and Game 5 was never really in doubt.

NBA Picks: Thunder at Heat Game 5 Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/20/2012

Things are not looking good for the NBA season to be extended past Thursday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Miami with the Heat leading the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-1. First off, the Thunder’s chances of winning the series are very small. Only eight teams in NBA playoff history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series and never in the Finals.

NBA Finals Picks: Thunder at Heat Game 4 Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/18/2012

I didn’t play in the NBA or coach in The Association, but it sure seems like Oklahoma City Coach Scott Brooks is being handed his hat by counterpart Erik Spoelstra so far in the NBA Finals as we head into Tuesday night’s Game 4 in Miami.

NBA Finals Predictions: Thunder at Heat Game 3 Odds and Betting Picks
by Alan Matthews - 6/15/2012

Can we stop criticizing LeBron James and Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra now? Both had faced the usual sniping after LeBron was completely outplayed by Kevin Durant in Game 1 of the NBA Finals loss, and Spoelstra was hearing he was vastly outcoached by Scott Brooks in the opener, much like Spoelstra was in last year’s Finals loss to Dallas.

NBA Picks: Heat at Thunder Game 2 Betting Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/13/2012

The 2012 NBA Finals were hyped as a LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant showdown as part of a bigger Miami Big 3 vs. an Oklahoma City Big 3, and the Thunder won on both counts in the Game 1 opener to take a 1-0 series lead. Thus, Game 2 Thursday night in OKC is almost a must-win for the Heat or else they know this series is going back to Oklahoma City even if they can somehow sweep the middle three games of the Finals’ 2-3-2 format.