NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Odds: Wednesday, April 27 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/26/2016

I'm not sure I've ever seen a day like Monday in the NBA playoffs where the championship odds shifted around so much. When we learned that Warriors star and lock repeat NBA MVP Steph Curry would miss at least two weeks with a knee sprain, the Warriors were passed at sportsbooks by the San Antonio Spurs as title favorites. But then the Warriors caught a massive break on Monday night: Clippers star Chris Paul broke his hand against Portland and is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, April 26 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/25/2016

I'm guessing that a sportsbook or two will offer a prop on the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers because they did a couple of years ago before the team hired Byron Scott. He was informed late Sunday night that he wouldn't be brought back. Really no reason to keep him around now that Kobe Bryant is gone -- that was basically a keep Kobe happy hiring.

NBA Betting Advice: How Steph Curry's Knee Impacts the Odds and Upcoming Rounds
by George Monroy - 4/25/2016

Many NBA pundits and bettors went into the 2016 postseason believing the only thing that could derail the Golden State Warriors historical run would be an injury to presumed-MVP Steph Curry or another key player. Unfortunately, four games into the playoffs, Golden State's worst nightmare may have become a reality.

NBA Odds: Saturday, April 23 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/22/2016

Still not much drama in these playoffs yet, but things suddenly got interesting in the Warriors-Rockets matchup. There's little doubt Golden State would have swept Houston had Steph Curry been healthy. But he has now missed the past two games, and the Warriors dropped Game 3 in Houston on Thursday night on a last-second jumper by James Harden (although he clearly committed an offensive foul to get the space).

NBA Odds: Friday, April 22, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/21/2016

The Minnesota Timberwolves hired former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau as their coach and team president on Wednesday, and now I fully believe this team can get into the playoffs in 2016-17 as a No. 7 or No. 8 seed with all that young talent and another lottery pick on the way. When Thibodeau took over the Bulls for his first NBA head coaching job, he led an immediate 21-win leap in the standings.

NBA Odds: Thursday, April 21 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/20/2016

So what do you do if you are the Golden State Warriors? It's now pretty clear that the Houston Rockets just don't care and aren't going to put up much of a fight in their first-round Western Conference series. So does Warriors coach Steve Kerr allow Steph Curry to play in Game 3 on Thursday as the series shifts to Texas? Or does he give Curry a few more days to heal that ankle/foot. Curry had an MRI on Tuesday and it came back clear. He is currently listed as questionable. The Warriors will not beat the Clippers in the next round without a fully healthy Curry. I probably sit him at least one more game.

NBA Betting Advice and Handicapping: Wagering on the Golden State Warriors
by Trevor Whenham - 4/20/2016

We don't often see something like the spectacle of the Golden State Warriors. They are dominant, but not alone - they are barreling towards a showdown with the Spurs that everyone expects and everyone anticipates wildly. The talent of this team is historic - no team has won more games. That success means that the public loves the team like no other.

Free NBA Picks for Adjusted Series Odds Prices
by Dave Schwab - 4/20/2016

One of the most interesting ways to bet on the NBA Playoffs is series price prop bet odds. Not only are they released before each round's series get underway, but they are also constantly updated as the each series progresses through the best-of-seven format. It is like live in-game betting on a more drawn out scale.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, April 20 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/19/2016

These are not your father's New York Knicks. Two decades ago, that was one of the top jobs in the NBA, maybe the best. Pat Riley took it. So did Rick Pitino. But now that franchise is a mess and team president Phil Jackson reportedly can't even get a Warriors assistant coach, Luke Walton, to take over as head coach.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, April 19 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/18/2016

If you were hoping for some drama in the openers of the NBA playoff series, you were pretty much out of luck other than perhaps the Hawks-Celtics result. The average margin of victory across the eight openers was 20.5 points. That's the most lopsided group of playoff openers in NBA history, passing 1995's 19.6. Sunday's action was almost unwatchable from a fan's standpoint but good viewing if you backed the favorites. The only close game -- and only underdog to cover -- was Detroit losing by just five to Cleveland.

NBA Odds: Sunday, April 17, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/15/2016

This is likely a franchise-altering postseason for the Los Angeles Clippers. The former laughingstock franchise is in the playoffs for the fifth year in a row but has never reached the Western Conference Finals in team history. Another playoff disappointment and I believe this core has to be broken up.

NBA Odds: Saturday, April 16 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/14/2016

Remember last year when the Western Conference playoffs looked like a bloodbath? It appeared to be the deepest field in years with any team capable of upsetting the other in the first round except for No. 8 New Orleans over No. 1 Golden State. This year? The West clearly has chasm between the top four teams and the bottom four. I'd be surprised if any first-round series goes past five games, with that one possibility being Clippers-Trail Blazers.

NBA Playoffs Betting Advice: Vulnerable High Seeds
by Trevor Whenham - 4/14/2016

The first round of the NBA Playoffs is typically pretty short of intrigue. The public expects the higher seeds to come through and win, and more often than not that is how it turns out. The way things have set up for the first round this year things could easily turn out that way again. There are a few teams, though, that could at least be somewhat vulnerable of falling below their expectations this year. Here are four:

Free NBA Picks for Western Conference Playoffs Odds with Expert Predictions
by George Monroy - 4/14/2016

The final night of the NBA season ended with a bang as the Golden State Warriors made history by breaking the Chicago Bulls hallowed 72-win record while Kobe Bryant said farewell to the league in the only way he could-with a 60-point explosion on 50 shots during 42 minutes of play. If the last night of the regular season was any indication of things to come, fans and bettors will be in for a treat during the 2016 playoffs.

Free NBA Picks for Eastern Conference Playoffs Odds with Expert Predictions
by George Monroy - 4/14/2016

The NBA Playoffs are finally here, and what most basketball fans and experts are expecting is a postseason full of fireworks. The west is as top-heavy and loaded as it has ever been, while the Eastern Conference is as deep and well-round as it has been in the last decade. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are once again the favorite to make it out of the conference and should dominate their first-round matchup.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, April 13 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/12/2016

It's the final day of the 2015-16 NBA regular season on Wednesday, and what a spectacular night it should be, one of the most important final days of a regular season that I can remember. Unfortunately, the two main games I'm interested are both starting at the same time: 10:30 p.m. From Oakland, the Golden State Warriors look for their NBA record 73rd win, and while nothing is a lock in sports I can't fathom a scenario where injury-ravaged Memphis prevents that from happening.

NBA Playoffs Betting Advice: Zig-Zag Theory for Wagering Explained
by George Monroy - 4/12/2016

The idea behind the NBA zig-zag theory is a simple, yet powerful concept: in any playoff series bet on the team that lost the last game because they are more likely to cover the next spread. The zig-zag theory first came into prominence in the 1980s and was a moneymaker for bettors for quite some time. But, of course, like any good theory, the sportsbooks eventually caught on and adjusted their lines to take that concept into account.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, April 12 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/11/2016

Just two days left in the NBA's regular season, and there's not much drama in the individual department. By that I mean for awards and league leaders. Steph Curry is a lock to win the NBA MVP and the scoring title, with James Harden finishing second in scoring for the second year in a row. Curry might even win Most Improved Player as he's been that good. Detroit's Andre Drummond is your rebounding king, and Rajon Rondo will take the assists title.

NBA Odds: Saturday, April 9 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/8/2016

I can't say I've ever been to a Sacramento Kings game at what is now called Sleep Train Arena, but I remember loving watching games on TV from there back in the early 2000s when the Kings were one of the NBA's best and most entertaining teams. You could hear the cowbells through your screen and it was a rabid fan base.

NBA Odds: Friday, April 8, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 4/7/2016

I generally don't root for anyone to fail -- OK, unless it benefits my team or my betting position -- so I was happy to see the Philadelphia 76ers beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night for their 10th win of the season, assuring that wretched team won't tie for the NBA record of single-season losses at 73. Maybe the 76ers drew inspiration from the night before when Villanova beat North Carolina for the school's first national title since 1985. One thing the 76ers haven't done yet this season: win consecutive games. Friday against the Knicks is probably their last chance to do so.