NBA Handicapping Articles

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/12/2018

The marquee matchup of the night in the NBA is Cleveland at Oklahoma City (well, if two banged-up Thunder stars are in the lineup). What makes it even more interesting in my opinion is that it's the last time that LeBron James and Paul George will share the same court this season - sorry, there's not going to be a Cavs-Thunder NBA Finals. Of course, James was trying to get his former GM to land George in a trade this past summer, but that didn't work out reportedly because James wouldn't commit to stay in Cleveland past this season. Last week's trade deadline was notable for the Los Angeles Lakers because they cleared enough salary to have enough cap room to offer James and George max contracts.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/9/2018

Well, that was quite an NBA trade deadline day, wasn't it? The Golden State Warriors did nothing because they don't need to mess with what they have. The Boston Celtics were quiet. The Clippers kept DeAndre Jordan. What was truly shocking was not that the Cleveland Cavaliers were active but that they essentially overhauled their entire team outside of LeBron James, the injured Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson (who surely was offered around). Gone are Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and the team's protected 2018 first-round pick - but not that Nets pick. In are the Lakers' Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. along with Sacramento's George Hill and Utah's Rodney Hood.

Expert NBA Handicapping: Milwaukee Bucks a Surprising Contender in East
by Trevor Whenham - 2/9/2018

If the NBA Playoffs were to start today then the Milwaukee Bucks would be hosting a playoff series. The Bucks - long the easiest team to forget about in the league. And, more than that, in a conference that is more wide open than it has been in a very long time you can't laugh at the idea of the team making the Eastern Conference Final. This isn't a great team - certainly far from perfect - but it has a centerpiece any team in the league would kill for, some nice complementary pieces, and a style of play that can be very effective. So, let's take some time to look at this team a little from a betting perspective, shall we?:

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/8/2018

You might take a quick glance at Friday's NBA slate and see Clippers-Pistons and Timberwolves-Bulls and think those are two pretty mediocre-to-bad matchups. And maybe neither game will be close, but both are homecoming games for two big-time NBA stars. In Clippers-Pistons, it's Blake Griffin's first game against his former mates since that shocking trade to Detroit late last month. If you say you saw that coming, you are flat-out lying. Not even Griffin did as he expected to be a Clipper for life after signing that huge extension this past summer - why his agent didn't negotiate a no-trade clause, I don't know.

NBA Handicapping: Analyzing the Cavaliers after the Trade Deadline
by Trevor Whenham - 2/8/2018

I've known for a while now that I had to write about the Cavaliers at some point this week. I figured, though, that I had better wait until after the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon in case they make a deal of some sort. Little did I know that they would trade six players and totally overhaul their roster. Hilariously, the six traded players are the most by any team in the last 30 years, tying only the 2008 Cavs - the last time the team was trying to appease LeBron and keep him from bolting. So, now we have a team that looks fundamentally different than the one they had a day before the deadline - though not as different as they likely would have liked because Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are still in town. But is different better?

Handicapping the LA Clippers and Detroit Pistons after Blake Griffin Trade
by Trevor Whenham - 2/8/2018

The NBA trade deadline was pretty busy, and thanks to the Cavaliers it was pretty interesting. The most interesting trade of the season, though, happened well before the deadline. When the Clippers and the Pistons pulled the trigger on the deal - that came seemingly out of nowhere - with Blake Griffin as the centerpiece, they really made waves. It seemed to tell us a lot about where both teams were - even if one of them doesn't seem to know it. Now that the dust has settled and more than a week has passed, it's a good time to look at where the teams are at and what this deal means now and going forward:

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/7/2018

Thursday is one of my favorite sports days of the year: the NBA's trade deadline, which is at 3 p.m. ET. The league moved up the deadline this year ahead of the All-Star Game partly because of the DeMarcus Cousins embarrassment last season when it became known that he had been traded during that game to New Orleans, which just so happened to be hosting the All-Star Game. One benefit of the earlier deadline is that it gives traded players a bit more time to acclimate themselves to their new teams. I think it's a sure thing that Memphis' Tyreke Evans is dealt by 3 p.m. ET Thursday if not by the time you read this.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/6/2018

The NBA's trade deadline is Thursday, and one semi-big name seemingly a near sure thing to be dealt is Utah's Joe Johnson. "Big Shot Joe" has officially requested a trade and the team is trying to oblige him. At age 36, Johnson isn't going to be the difference in some contender winning a title or not, but as that name implies he has been very big in the clutch in his career and would be a great bench piece.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/5/2018

Granted, we haven't even hit the All-Star break yet and there are a little more than two months remaining in the regular season, but it's never too early to start thinking about playoff tiebreakers. That brings me to one of the top games of Tuesday night with Boston visiting Toronto. With the mess the Cleveland Cavaliers are in, it's pretty evident that either the Celtics or Raptors will get the East's top seed.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/2/2018

The Cleveland Cavaliers were near locks to make some sort of trade by the Feb. 8 deadline, but the broken hand suffered by All-Star forward Kevin Love on Tuesday now essentially assures that. Love is expected to miss approximately eight weeks, which should see him return right near the end of the regular season. He gets a lot of grief and isn't exactly the world's best defender, but he is what you want in a stretch-four as Love is shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range while averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 2/2/2018

January is in the rear-view mirror, and the NBA All Star Break is right around the corner. The big story this week is Blake Griffin being traded to Detroit. It will be interesting to see how the Pistons do with Andre Drummond and Griffin in the same frontcourt. The Clippers appear to be rebuilding once again.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 2/1/2018

I truly can't remember a newsier NBA week than this one other than right at the trade deadline. It has been mostly bad news for teams (DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Kevin Love - more on that Saturday), but it's potentially fantastic news for the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. They are set to welcome back Jabari Parker from his torn ACL. The former Duke star and No. 2 overall pick in 2014, has not played since tearing the ACL in his left knee for the second time on Feb. 8, 2017. He was having by far his best season last year, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. Needless to say, Parker's minutes will be restricted for a while, and he may not play both ends of a back-to-back all season.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/31/2018

What a crazy NBA week it has been already! I was flabbergasted that the Clippers traded superstar Blake Griffin on Monday to the Detroit Pistons. The Clippers also sent salary filler Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to Detroit, while the Pistons shipped Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, and a first- and second-round draft pick to L.A. Protections on Detroit's first-round pick include 1-4 in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and unprotected in 2021. That pick will almost surely convey this summer, though, because I expect Detroit to make the playoffs in the weak East now barring injury to Griffin or Andre Drummond (now the East's best 4-5 combination?).

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/30/2018

Now that we are about into February, I think the teams trying to tank will really separate themselves at the bottom of the NBA. A new entrant to this category is the Memphis Grizzlies. You have to give credit to that small-market franchise because ownership always tried to be competitive and never did a full-out tank job like the Philadelphia 76ers. The Grizzlies made the playoffs each of the past seven years but never past the conference semifinals. Over the weekend, GM Chris Wallace announced some news that should have surprised no one: star point guard Mike Conley will miss the rest of the season to have surgery on his left heel.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/29/2018

With the Trail Blazers visiting the Clippers on Tuesday night, it's a good time to look at updated trade rumors involving L.A. center DeAndre Jordan, who can opt out of his contract this summer for free agency and absolutely will do so. Portland is reportedly looking into Jordan, which is interesting because the Blazers already have a good center in Jusuf Nurkic - although perhaps he would be a key piece going back; Nurkic, though, is a restricted free agent this summer. Portland can also offer $5.1 million in cash to a team in a trade.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2018

In honor of the Boston-Golden State mega-matchup on Saturday night, it begs the question: Why don't other teams get creative when hiring their head coaches? Brad Stevens did a fabulous job at Butler, but he had zero NBA experience when Danny Ainge put him in charge of the NBA's most storied franchise. That has proven to be a grand-slam hire. Stevens became the Celtics' first coach with no NBA experience of any kind since Alvin "Doggie" Julian gave way to franchise icon Red Auerbach in 1950. One year after the Stevens hire, the Warriors pushed aside successful coach Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2018

By the time you read this, the two NBA All-Star teams will be completed as the captain's picks by LeBron James and Steph Curry were to be unveiled on Thursday night. For once, I think that the fans/media/coaches got the 10 starters exactly right. There are a few guys who were obvious snubs among the reserves. The biggest one might be Clippers sixth man Lou Williams, who is having a career year and a huge reason why L.A. is in the playoff hunt despite both Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan missing time with injuries.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/24/2018

We might be too deep into the NBA season for any of Doc's affiliated sportsbooks to post a "Next NBA Coach to be Fired" prop, but I could be wrong. Milwaukee gave Jason Kidd the pink slip on Monday (Kidd is the third coach fired so far this season), which was a dangerous choice because superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly loved Kidd and offered to try and save his job with ownership. You never want to upset your franchise player, especially when you are a small-market team lucky enough to even have one.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/23/2018

Michael Jordan obviously is the best basketball player to ever live, but his NBA ownership skills have left a lot to be desired. There are 15 teams in the NBA this season with a total team payroll higher than $115 million. The Hornets are the only one of those 15 with a losing record, and they have more than $118 in salary committed to the 2018-19 season already. Guys like Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller are on bad contracts.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/22/2018

When you are tanking, one loss/win can mean a huge difference in terms of percentage of winning the NBA Draft Lottery, and the 2018 draft class looks absolutely loaded at the top. There's a Tankapalooza game in Orlando on Tuesday between the Kings and Magic. I tip my cap to Kings management because they aren't even hiding their intentions the rest of the way. Last week, Coach Dave Joerger, no doubt on orders from management, announced he would be sitting two of his veterans every game the rest of the season on a rotating basis. That does two things: Helps the club lose more and gets the young guys some needed playing time.