NBA Handicapping Articles

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.

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.