NBA Handicapping Articles
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.
NBA Betting Advice: Handicapping the Miami Heat
by Trevor Whenham - 12/9/2016
The Miami Heat just aren't very good right now. It's not like they faced major expectations coming into the season, either - their season win total sat at just 34.5 entering the season. At 7-15 they are well under that pace, though, and they have dropped seven of their last 10 so they aren't exactly trending upwards. They sit at 10-12 ATS, so they aren't burning things up at the betting window either way - you can't make serious money betting on them or betting against them.
Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/9/2016
I'm not a big Los Angeles Clippers fan, but they are an entertaining team to watch. I want them to do well for that reason and because I so dislike the Lakers and thus want the Clips to own that town, even if briefly. While I don't want to overreact to one NBA regular-season game in early December, I have little faith now that the Clippers can give the Warriors a fight in a potential playoff series -- meaning this team is probably going to be broken up next offseason. L.A.'s first true litmus test of the season was Wednesday night at home against Golden State, and the Clippers failed miserably in a 115-98 loss that didn't even feel that close.
Free NBA Picks: Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/8/2016
All eyes Friday night will clearly be on the Houston-Oklahoma City game, not so much because either side is a championship contender but to see if the incomparable Russell Westbrook can have a seventh straight triple-double. Do you know how many Hall of Famers didn't even have six triple-doubles in their careers? Westbrook is the first player with a triple-double in six consecutive games since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989.
Free NBA Betting Picks: Season-Long Utah Jazz Analysis and Expert Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 12/8/2016
If you take a look at the Western Conference standings right now, you will see the usual suspects in the mix for a postseason berth. However, there is more of a log jam throughout the top eight seeds this year. The eighth-place Portland Trailblazers sit just 3.5 games back of fourth in the conference. I would like nothing more than to chalk this up as parity early in the season, but the actual reason the standings look the way they do is because the Western Conference is just simply better than the East.
Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/7/2016
Anthony Davis has been in the NBA since the 2012-13 season but is just 23 years old because he left Kentucky after one fabulous freshman season. Davis is now easily a Top-5 player in the NBA and on a monstrous contract. Joel Embiid is playing his rookie NBA season but is already 22 because of course he missed what were to have been his first two seasons due to foot troubles. I am mega-excited to see Davis and Embiid face off for the first time ever, barring some AAU game or something back in their youth that I don't know about, on Thursday night when New Orleans hosts Philadelphia in a game that otherwise would get little attention.
Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/6/2016
With all due respect to the San Antonio Spurs, I believe just one team is talented enough to win the Western Conference this season over Golden State and that's the Los Angeles Clippers (not that I'm predicting that). Their Big 3 of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan is as almost as good as Golden State's Big 3. And this year, the Clippers might actually have a better bench after the Warriors had to dump some guys this offseason after adding Kevin Durant's big salary. Believe it or not, the Clippers' five-man reserve unit of Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Marreese Speights (a former Warrior), Raymond Felton and Wesley Johnson, statistically, is the second-best defensive group in the NBA.
Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 12/5/2016
A lot of people around the NBA snickered when the Chicago Bulls signed Rajon Rondo in free agency this past offseason. You look simply at his statistics last year with the Sacramento Kings and they don't look too bad. But those are very empty numbers. The guy can't shoot and is now a major liability on both ends of the floor. And on top of all that, he reportedly isn't a great teammate with an attitude these days.
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