NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Betting and Handicapping: Teams with High Upside
by Trevor Whenham - 10/16/2017

The best friends of NBA bettors are those teams which have the potential to be better than what seems to be the widely-held perception of them. Simply put, those are teams that can provide value, and value is what fuels profits for smart bettors over the long term. Here, then, is a look at four teams that have the potential to exceed whatever expectations people seem to have for them in the 2017-18 NBA season:

Expert NBA Betting Advice: Teams that Could Disappoint
by Trevor Whenham - 10/16/2017

When we sit at the start of an NBA season it's a good exercise to look at teams, set our own expectations for them, and then see how those expectations differ from what the general and betting public seem to think. In some cases we will see teams that have more downside in our eyes than the public seems to think. And those teams can be very useful for bettors as betting against them can be more attractive than the public might think. There can be nice value here. Here are four teams with at least some potential to disappoint entering the season.

Expert NBA Handicapping: Teams Hardest to Judge
by Trevor Whenham - 10/16/2017

We know that Golden State, Houston and likely Boston are going to be good this year, and they will win a lot of regular-season games. And we know that the Knicks, Pacers, and Hawks are going to be bad and lose a lot of games. Those are the easy teams for NBA bettors to figure out. What is far more challenging is to figure out are the teams that exist in some sort of middle ground. They could be decent, or they could be lousy. They could win a lot of games and cover lot of spreads. Or they could consistently burn bettors' money up. When you can paint both positive and negative scenarios for a team, and have little trouble convincing yourself that either is possible, then you have a betting challenge.

2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

I've written a preview of every team in the NBA before the season starts. I left Cleveland until last, putting it off for as long as I possibly could. I mean, I willingly and intentionally previewed the Knicks, Magic and Bulls before doing Cleveland. Why? Because it's just so depressing. They made all sorts of changes, bringing in more old guys that Lebron James hopes will accept his greatness, bow down appropriately, and help him win while staying out of his spotlight. There was plenty of drama - from the head office on down. LeBron was, when not speaking out politically, often the baby he always is. It's ridiculous. And none of it matters. This is just so boring.

2017-18 Washington Wizards Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

The last couple of years the Eastern Conference of the NBA has been a Big One followed by a Smaller But Still Significant Three. Boston has made a clear move to join Cleveland, but it still feels like Washington and Toronto are in the second tier, and that the gap between them and the rest isn't shrinking. Washington hasn't improved this offseason, and their depth isn't exactly inspiring, but they should be hosting a first-round playoff series as they have in three of the last four years. They have also won each of those playoff series, only to fall in the second round. Again, that would feel far from surprising this year.

2017-18 New York Knicks Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

The Knicks are the funniest team in the league. Hilarious. As long as you aren't a fan. They made the obvious and incredibly necessary move to get rid of Phil Jackson. But they are still the organization that thought it was a good idea to hire Jackson in the first place. They finally dealt with their Carmelo Anthony problem. But then they used their offseason to promptly back themselves into a different corner. They are in one of the world's great cities, and they have literally everything going for them, but their incompetence is insurmountable. They are going to be a bad team this year. And next year. And probably in 30 years. And it will never not be funny.

2017-18 Atlanta Hawks Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

In the 2014-15 season the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games, Mike Budenholzer was named coach of the year, and they made it to the conference finals before being swept by the Cavs. It felt like the team was really accomplishing something - that the future was bright. And they have been on a downhill plane ever since. They won 48 games and lost in the second round in 2016. Then the won 43 and lost in the first round last year.

2017-18 Indiana Pacers Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

This is the year that Myles Turner becomes an asset that other teams will covet and who will eventually leave Indiana. It's what the Pacers do - develop top young talent and then watch them leave when they enter their true prime. The Pacers are essentially a farm team at this point. Paul George became the latest to leave this offseason, leaving Turner as the star of the team. He is going to face a whole lot more pressure, and his opportunities will be harder to come by without George to play behind. However, if Turner can keep on the trajectory he has been on to date then he'll be up to the challenge.

2017-18 Chicago Bulls Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

There is only one thing you need to know about the Chicago Bulls right now - they have the lowest season win total in the league. And even at 22.5 wins the oddsmakers feel like they are being gracious. This was a pretty underwhelming team last year - a playoff team that was gone in a flash - and they have been gutted of their only good players. They didn't get close to even value in return - at least in the short term. And they were uninterested in, or incapable of, replacing Jimmy Butler with another star. Their payroll is the lowest in the league by a fair margin, and the team should get what they pay for this year. This team is just plain tanking. Blatantly. Obviously. And, given the talent available in the draft next year, logically.

2017-18 Orlando Magic Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/13/2017

I went to a game in Orlando last year while on a family vacation. Beautiful new arena. Amazing parking. And the loudest P.A. I have ever heard in a sporting venue by a wide margin. Almost deafening. And it has to be so that the place doesn't feel like a mausoleum. The place was far from full on a Friday night, a good portion of the crowd was tourists, and people were so quiet that it was almost eerie. But can you blame them?

2017-18 Miami Heat Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/12/2017

Last season for the Miami Heat was, in a word, weird. In the first half of the season they were a dismal 11-30, and they seemed determined to outdo Brooklyn for the first overall pick. In the second half, though, they went 30-11 and were one of the better teams in the entire league. It was a truly bizarre reversal. Management was left with the tough task of figuring out which team was closer to reality and what to do as a result.

2017-18 Detroit Pistons Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/12/2017

Going into last year it seemed like the Detroit Pistons had something going on. Don't get me wrong - they weren't a threat to win the division or even a playoff series in all likelihood. But they seemed to be moving in the right direction. They were at least a little loveable. On that basis, then, last year was a massive disappointment. The team was a long way from great. They won 37 games and finished 10th in the East, and they just weren't relevant in any way at all. In a generally underwhelming year for the Eastern Conference they were among the more disappointing squads.

2017-18 Charlotte Hornets Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/12/2017

I'd love to do a survey of people who identify themselves as at least casual NBA fans. I would bet that a pretty strong majority wouldn't be able to tell you who Steve Clifford is. He is about to begin his fifth year as the head coach in Charlotte, but he is a very anonymous guy for a team that is surprisingly anonymous given the owner. His first and third seasons were winning years, but his second and fourth were disappointments. If the pattern continues then this should be a playoff team this year - one that will lose in the first round. But can they rebound from a 36-win season last year that followed the 48 wins the year before?

2017-18 Toronto Raptors Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/12/2017

The Raptors are in a tough spot right now. They are good enough to consistently win 50 or so games, sell a lot of tickets, and win a playoff series most years. But they would need a miracle - like about 25 debilitating injuries for the stars of other teams - in order to win a title or even make a deep run. They are well behind two teams in the East and probably five or so in the West. So, they are too good to blow it all up but not good enough to do any real damage. And, given that they only made tweaks this offseason, and that they have locked in their core and given up any financial freedom as a result, what we have seen is probably mostly what we will get.

2017-18 Philadelphia 76ers Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/12/2017

This isn't the year that we are going to see the full results of The Process. Philadelphia isn't going to win a title, and it's quite conceivable that they won't even make the playoffs. But what we need to see is progress. We need to see that they are working towards something and that they are closer to the promised land now than they were at any point in this seemingly endless period of struggle. Now, it's easy to say that, but will it actually happen?

2017-18 Boston Celtics Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2017

The Boston Celtics were mad as heck and they weren't going to take it anymore. They had improved significantly, hired the second-best coach in the game, and were easily the second-best team in the conference. The gap between them and Cleveland was still significant, though, and it wasn't going to shrink unless they got radical or LeBron James moved to the West. The latter might happen, but not for another year.

NBA Season Win Totals Predictions: Over and Under Picks for Every Team
by Ricky Dimon - 10/6/2017

The 2017-18 NBA campaign is fast approaching after a wild offseason that saw plenty of all-stars change locations. A lot of teams appear to have gotten markedly better, just as many others seem destined to be much, much worse. How will the Cleveland-Boston trade shake out in the win-loss column? Can Oklahoma City and Houston compete with Golden State for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference? Those questions, and more, will be discussed in the form of "over/under" win totals.

2017-18 Golden State Warriors Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/6/2017

I've waited until I was done previewing every other Western Conference team before I did this one for one simple reason - I was hoping the extra time would allow me to figure out what to say. I mean, what can you really say? A team that was very dominant en route to a title last year is largely intact and will likely be even better if they stay healthy because they have had more time to play together and because there is at least a good chance that their coach will be available for more of the season. How cutting edge and bold of me.

2017-18 Milwaukee Bucks Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/6/2017

The Milwaukee Bucks are a team on the rise. Or at least they hope that this is the case. The "Greek Freak" is one of the most exciting players in the league - the epitome of a point forward with seemingly limitless upside. They have a nice complement of players around him. They play in a division that lost Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving, so things aren't quite as tough as they have been.

2017-18 Brooklyn Nets Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/6/2017

How not to rebuild a team in the NBA - trade away all your first-round picks and then tank better than any team outside of Philadelphia ever has. When you write it down the approach doesn't make any sense at all, yet for some bizarre reason it is exactly what Brooklyn seems to think would work. Without the addition of young talent that they otherwise would have, the Nets have been forced to cobble together a group of has-beens, never-beens and hopefully-will-bes to try to climb back to respectability after two years in the league's cellar.