NBA Handicapping Articles

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/14/2016

We have our second somewhat substantial trade rumor of the young season: the Kings are reportedly open to dealing second-year center Willie Cauley-Stein, the team's No. 6 overall pick out of the 2015 draft. I never understood why Sacramento took Stein there since they already had another former Kentucky star big man in DeMarcus Cousins.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/11/2016

Very unusual schedule for the Dallas Mavericks (2-6) as they played Wednesday and don't again until Monday -- I can't really remember a team not playing once an entire weekend outside of the All-Star break -- so perhaps now is a good time to talk about potentially the first coach fired this NBA season. Already you are hearing some rumors about the Mavs' Rick Carlisle, whom I think would be on any Top-10 list of the best active coaches in the league.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/10/2016

You have to love the dysfunctional Knicks. Team president Phil Jackson is a devotee of the triangle offense that helped him win 11 titles as a head coach with the Bulls and Lakers. Yet he goes out and hires a coach this offseason in Jeff Hornacek who has no ties to that offense in his playing or coaching career. Already Jackson has expressed his displeasure with the few times the team runs the triangle, which is usually only after dead balls.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/9/2016

There are two homecoming games I am very much looking forward to this season. The first is Kevin Durant's initial game back in Oklahoma City on Feb. 11. I'm sure Durant will get some cheers, but there are a lot of people still angry he bailed on the franchise so there will be plenty of negativity. But it should only be positive on Thursday night when Dwyane Wade returns to Miami for the first time.

Free NBA Betting Picks: Season-Long Utah Jazz Analysis and Expert Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 11/9/2016

The year 2016 is a year we won't soon forget. The Chicago Cubs broke a 108-year World Series curse and Donald J. Trump was just elected as the new President of the United States of America. I know better than to use this as a political platform, but these two major events should remind us of something we already knew thanks to an infamous Kevin Garnett postgame interview - "Anything is possible".

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/8/2016

So much for Steph Curry's slump. Curry, who surely will go down as the greatest 3-point shooter in league history by the time he retires, had his record streak of 157 straight games with at least one made 3-pointer end in a stunning Golden State loss to the Lakers on Friday as Curry was 0-for-10. No worries. Curry hit an NBA single-game record 13 of them (on 17 attempts) in Monday's win over New Orleans.

NBA Betting and Handicapping: Surprises so far in 2016
by Trevor Whenham - 11/8/2016

Every team in the NBA except for Minnesota (5) has played at least six games, and two have played eight. The sample size is still fairly small, but already we know enough to know that things aren't going to work out as expected for every team this season. Some teams are exactly what bettors thought they were for the most part, while others have been real surprises - both positive or negative. Not surprisingly, given the setup, our job here today is to look at a few of those biggest surprises.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/7/2016

The New Orleans Pelicans stink right now. I don't think they are as bad as their record, but they are ravaged by injuries/missing players. There's only so much Anthony Davis can do each night. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, they have lost another guy in swingman Lance Stephenson. He was hurt in Friday's loss to Phoenix, suffering a serious groin injury (in my mind, all groin injuries are serious!). Stephenson had averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/4/2016

It's quite amazing how quickly things seem to sour around Dwight Howard. He had a very good thing going in Orlando and owned that town, but he not only got Coach Stan Van Gundy fired but forced a trade to the Lakers. Los Angeles appeared poised to have a super-team in Howard's one season there alongside Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, but injuries wrecked that and Kobe basically hated Howard. So he took less money to get away from ball-hogging Kobe and sign with Houston. And the Rockets reached the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago.

Free NBA Betting Picks: Season-Long Utah Jazz Analysis and Expert Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 11/4/2016

We are 10 days into the NBA season and there have been an abundance of storylines so far this season. Some of the feel-good storylines include Russell Westbrook's triple-double average over five games, DeMar DeRozan scoring 145 points in his first four games since signing a massive $139-million contract in the offseason, and the surprise 3-1 start by the Atlanta Hawks, a team many pegged to have a down year this year.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/3/2016

The NBA's Revenge Tour continues on Friday, a night after Russell Westbrook took his pent-up frustrations out on former teammate Kevin Durant in Oakland. On Friday, it will be interesting to see how New York point guard Derrick Rose is welcomed back to his hometown of Chicago. In the 2010-11 season, Rose became the youngest-ever MVP and arguably the most popular athlete in the Windy City since some Jordan guy. The Bulls were poised to be LeBron James' top challenger in the Eastern Conference for years.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/2/2016

I've obviously never played professional sports, but I feel like that even if I hated a teammate and assuming the money was equal, I would want to stay where I'm comfortable and have a chance to win a championship. I bring this up because of Thursday's epic showdown between Oklahoma City and Golden State. It's now pretty clear that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant weren't exactly best pals in the wake of Durant leaving for the Warriors.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 11/1/2016

Monday was the deadline for teams to extend players chosen in the first round of the 2013 draft on rookie-scale extension deals. Any players not extended would hit restricted free agency next offseason. I don't think there were any huge surprises ahead of the deadline. The Jazz smartly locked up center Rudy Gobert on a four-year, $102 million extension. He was perhaps the biggest steal of that draft at No. 27 overall, originally chosen by Denver.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/31/2016

With the Kings visiting the Heat on Tuesday, it's a good time to talk about a rumored trade between the teams. Sacramento has been looking for its first top-flight point guard since Mike Bibby, it seems. Miami is probably going to be a lottery team this season and mortgaged the future at the February 2015 trade deadline by getting point guard Goran Dragic from Phoenix. With Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh now gone, there's really no reason for the Heat to keep Dragic around.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/28/2016

Even though the Philadelphia 76ers lost their home opener on Wednesday against Oklahoma City, the night was an unqualified success and this franchise might actually be on the right track now. If you watched Joel Embiid in his one season at Kansas, then you saw a superstar-in-waiting for the NBA. But foot injuries cost Embiid his first two NBA seasons. Before a raucous sellout crowd on Wednesday,

Free NBA Picks: Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/27/2016

Obviously I'm not going to overreact to one game in an NBA season, especially this early. But can we stop calling Golden State the Super Warriors or whatever they have been labeled with? They are still the NBA title betting favorites and are going to win the Western Conference for a third straight season barring injury.

Free NBA Picks: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/26/2016

Thursday is usually a marquee night in the NBA as it's the TNT doubleheader night, although TNT did add some other games this year as well with the new TV package kicking in. And I don't think there's any question what the most important thing we will see this Thursday night: Dwyane Wade in a Chicago Bulls No. 3 uniform. Like most around the NBA, I was stunned that Wade left Miami basically over a few million dollars. But the Heat were low-balling the face of the franchise and Wade had always said that if he left south Florida, it would be a return to his hometown.

Free NBA Picks: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/25/2016

Before we get to Wednesday's NBA schedule, here are my picks to win individual awards in the Association this season: with BetOnline Odds: MVP -- Kawhi Leonard, Spurs at +700. I don't think the Thunder will be good enough for Russell Westbrook to win it, LeBron James is going to take several games off this season most likely, and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant will steal votes from one another. Scoring champion -- Westbrook, Thunder at +160. With no Durant around Russ might shoot 30 times a night. Assists leader -- Chris Paul, Clippers at +300.

Free NBA Picks: Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 10/24/2016

Welcome to my first NBA Opening Line Report of the new season. I will be providing early lines and potential injury news that could affect them for games played Tuesday-Saturday. You never know when you can find an early advantage to exploit. I love the NBA, but in a way this season seems almost anti-climactic as it will be a shock if the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers don't play in a third straight NBA Finals.

Free NBA Betting Picks: Season-Long Utah Jazz Analysis and Expert Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 10/24/2016

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2016-17 NBA season. There are about a million storylines and angles I could cover, but I will be sticking to just one throughout the season. I plan on using my time, research and knowledge to specialize on one team that I think will be able to make some noise in the Western Conference. One of the keys to making money on a long-term basis is to understand and familiarize yourself with the league and teams that you put your hard-earned dollars on.