NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, February 19 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/18/2015

With the week off for the NBA All-Star Break, the various sportsbooks have released a few updated season odds. For example, on Bovada's NBA MVP odds, Golden State's Stephen Curry is the -200 favorite. I can't really argue with the best player on the league's best team, but I would say that Houston's James Harden (+350) is a bit more deserving as he has had to carry Houston a lot more this season than Curry had to the Warriors.

NBA Handicapping: Why Milwaukee Bucks are one of Best ATS Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It comes as no surprise that the Hawks and the Warriors, the teams that lead the two conferences but are running away with them with their consistently excellent play, are two of the three best teams in the NBA against the spread. What is far more surprising, though, is that sandwiched between those two superpowers when it comes to ATS performance is the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee — where basketball careers have long gone to die.

NBA Handicapping: George Karl and the Sacramento Kings
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It’s only the all-star break, and yet the Sacramento Kings are about to play under their third head coach of the season. At least in theory the hiring of George Karl should provide some stability and stop the carousel of coaches this year and well into the future. This is the Kings we are talking about, though, so stability and success is not only far from certain but perhaps even unlikely. Karl is better-positioned than most coaches, though — and certainly better positioned than Ty Corbin was — to have some success for this team.

NBA Wagering Tips: Solid ATS Teams after the Break
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

It’s not at all uncommon to see a good, established NBA team struggle early in the season — either straight up or just against the spread — but then they tighten things up and perform much better after the all-star break when the end is in sight and things really start to matter. Teams that have been a real betting disappointment for much of the year can, for a number of different reasons, turn into a betting delight in the final third of the season. Bettors who can spot the teams that are poised to improve can be in line to cap off their seasons very well.

NBA Betting Advice: Teams Poised for Cold ATS Streak after Break
by Trevor Whenham - 2/17/2015

The NBA all-star break can be a pivot point for the season. Players and coaches get a chance to step away from the season for a few days and regroup. After the break the playoff hunt really gets serious and the true contenders start to focus on what matters. Often, then, we see teams that have been very successful against the spread before the break struggle to be quite so profitable — or profitable at all, for that matter — after the break. Bettors who are able to deduce which teams could be in line for a downward adjustment could profit nicely.

NBA Handicapping: Atlanta Hawks as Serious Championship Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 2/16/2015

Heading into the All-Star break the Atlanta Hawks were grudgingly the biggest story and the best team in the NBA. At 43-11 they posted the second-best pre-All-Star game record in league history. That outstanding start included a 19-game winning streak and an undefeated (17-0) month of January, which resulted in the team’s starting five being named, collectively, as the league’s “player of the month” for their record-setting start to 2015.

NBA Futures Odds: Shopping for the Best Betting Lines
by Dave Schwab - 2/16/2015

The NBA remains on break for most of this week following its annual All-Star Game, and many of the biggest sportbooks in the industry have taken this time to update their futures odds to win the Eastern and Western Conferences as well as this season’s NBA Championship.

NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest Betting Odds and Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2015

For my money, the three-point contest is not only the best part of NBA All-Star Weekend but the best part of any all-star festivities in any sport. It’s a pure skill test, not ruined by gimmicks or silly judging. The best shooters compete, and the best of the best on that day win. Outstanding. The history of this contest, which started in 1985, is very bright. Larry Bird won the first three editions. Craig Hodges won three in a row and then tried for a fourth even though he wasn’t in the NBA that year. Hornacek, Ray Allen, Stojakovic twice, Nowitzki, Pierce, Love, Irving — unlike the dunk contest, the stars have always come out for this one.

NBA Handicapping: Betting on the Inconsistent Los Angeles Clippers
by Trevor Whenham - 2/12/2015

The Los Angeles Clippers have not had the dream season that they were hoping to in what was a reasonably wide-open Western Conference this year. Their 35-19 record is nothing to cry over, but they sit only sixth in the conference, they are just 5-5 in their last 10 games, and they have seemed to spend a fair bit of this season looking like they were running through mud. And then there is the drama around the team — like most recently when Chris Paul made some odd and ill-advised comments about a female referee.

NBA Handicapping: Orlando Magic Coaching Situation
by Trevor Whenham - 2/11/2015

Unless you are someone like Gregg Popovich — you know, really, really good at what you do — being a head coach in the NBA is a brutal profession. You are hired to be fired, and you have less job security than a mall Santa on Dec. 24. Jacque Vaughn was the latest to learn that hard lesson when he was ditched by the Orlando Magic on Feb. 5 — incidentally just six days before his 40th birthday. The farce of the situation was not that they let him go but the way they did it.

NBA All-Star Weekend: Shopping for the Best Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 2/11/2015

The NBA will take a break from its regular-season schedule this weekend for its annual All-Star Game festivities, but that does not mean sports bettors have to take a break as well. This event has grown into a three-day affair over the years with a number of different things to wager on along with the game itself.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Wednesday, February 11 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/10/2015

Don't be surprised if you see some unusual results in NBA action on Wednesday. Most teams that are dealing with injured guys likely will rest them to get some extra time off ahead of the All-Star Break, which begins after the one game on the schedule Thursday night. Remember, the break is longer this season as the schedule doesn’t pick back up until Feb. 19. The players wanted a few more days off, and Commissioner Adam Silver obliged, although it has meant a few more back-to-backs overall. Here's a look at Wednesday's busy slate.

2015 NBA MVP Odds and Predictions: Three Sleepers
by Raphael Esparza - 2/10/2015

The NBA All-Star break starts this weekend, and usually I talk about mid-season awards during this time frame. However, this year I’m going to focus on my predictions for three NBA players that have outstanding plus-money odds to win the regular-season MVP award. Anything can happen by the end of the season, but I believe these three players have a great chance of grabbing this prestigious award. I believe this MVP race is wide-open and will come right down to the end of the regular season.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 2/10/2015

The NBA All-Star Break is this coming weekend. Be careful putting too much on the Wednesday and Thursday games this week, because there will be a lot of teams ready for the break, and it can be difficult to handicap who the more motivated team will be in those spots. Golden State and Atlanta still have the best records in the league, though the oddsmakers have finally caught up to those two teams by laying some big numbers on them.

Tracking the Wizards: NBA Picks and Handicapping for Washington Basketball
by Dave Schwab - 2/10/2015

In an effort to demonstrate that specialization on a particular team when it comes to betting on the NBA can be a viable betting strategy, I have spent this season exclusively handicapping the Washington Wizards. I have also been releasing free weekly picks for the Wizards with the use of Doc’s Sports Unit Betting System, and while the results have been mixed at best with an overall record of 6-8-1, I am gearing up for a profitable run in the second half of the season.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, February 10 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/9/2015

Could we see George Karl back on an NBA bench as early as Tuesday night? It's possible as the Sacramento Kings are in talks to hire Karl. The team really never should have fired Mike Malone as it did in mid-December as the Kings have gone just 7-19 under interim coach Tyrone Corbin. Karl 100 percent wants the job, but for some reason Sacramento star DeMarcus Cousins doesn't seem all that thrilled about the possibility as the team's franchise player made some cryptic comments about the potential hiring over the weekend. Karl's 1,131 wins are sixth in NBA history. Here's a look at the Kings' game and the rest of Tuesday's schedule.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Saturday, February 7 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/6/2015

The Orlando Magic fired coach Jacque Vaughn on Thursday, making Vaughn the second NBA coach canned this season after Sacramento's Mike Malone (the Kings made a huge mistake). Will there be a third to go during the season? Some of the coaches on the worst teams -- the Knicks' Derek Fisher, 76ers' Brett Brown, Lakers' Byron Scott and Timberwolves' Flip Saunders -- seem safe for various reasons.

NBA Handicapping: Trail Blazers Losing Their Momentum in the West
by Trevor Whenham - 2/6/2015

On Jan. 11 the Portland Trail Blazers won at the Lakers to move their record to 30-8. They were flying high. Since then they have doubled their loss total, dropping eight of 12. Golden State was 29-5 back on the 11th and was in a dogfight with Portland. The Warriors haven’t quit winning, though, and are now seven games ahead of the Blazers. Portland was once in a race to win the West. Now they have to be more worried about holding off the Clippers and Mavs — both just a half game behind — and keep the right to a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Friday, February 6 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/5/2015

You know how when the NBA releases its schedule in the summer that sites like ESPN or SI.com or NBA.com come out with a list of Top 10 games? Those are usually dead on because there are so few surprise teams in the Association. You pretty much know who will be a title contender. Well, I guarantee you that Friday's Golden State at Atlanta matchup wasn't on any Top 10 list, but it's the clear game of the season thus far -- and sadly not on national television.

NBA Odds and Predictions: Thursday, February 5 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/4/2015

Before this season began, my NBA Finals predicted matchups was L.A. Clippers against Cleveland Cavaliers. That still may happen, and is priced at +2100 on Sportsbook.ag, but I'm much more confident about the red-hot Cavaliers making it there than the Clippers. It's not that L.A. isn't a good team, but that the West is so tough. The Clips could win 55 games and not even get home-court advantage in a series. Thursday is the final meeting between the teams during the regular season. Here's a look at the four games on the schedule.