NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Betting Advice: Tough Teams to Handicap
by Trevor Whenham - 10/18/2016

There are some NBA teams that are easy to figure out. I'm sure I'm not blowing your mind when I say that the Warriors are going to be really, really good or that the Nets are going to be really, really bad. People who have never watched basketball in their lives could figure that out. For every team that is relatively easy to figure out, though, there is at least one that is really hard to figure out. They could be really great. Or they could struggle. Anything could happen, and uncertainty is the enemy of good handicapping.

NBA Handicapping: Lakers a Tough Team to Handicap from Betting Standpoint
by Trevor Whenham - 10/18/2016

On the dawn of the NBA season there are a lot of teams out there that are tough to evaluate. What will the Thunder look like without Kevin Durant? Can the Sixers still turn a corner without Ben Simmons to start the season? Do the Celtics have the depth to match their hype, or is their lack of a true star a bigger issue than most seem to think? Can this 2012 All-Star team assembled in New York recapture their lost youth?

NBA Betting Advice: Defensive Player of the Year Odds and Wagering Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 10/11/2016

As we get ready for the NBA season, it's time to take a good look at the second most interesting individual award given out every year, behind only the MVP - the Defensive Player of the Year. This is where the workhorses get rewarded, and the list of winners stands up as truly impressive. The award has only been given out since 1983, and every single winner still stands up as a great player of his or any time.

2016 Los Angeles Lakers Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/6/2016

This is not how it is supposed to go. When a legend retires after a long and highly-decorated career there is supposed to be a period of mourning and a rough transition. I can't imagine that at this point there is a single person on or around the Lakers who is sad to see Kobe Bryant gone. As great as he was, he wasn't a net positive for at least the last year.

2016 Oklahoma City Thunder Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

So, were the Oklahoma City Thunder in the news this summer? Anything at all? I'm racking my brain, but I can't think of anything at all. It seems like they are just going with the exact same roster as last year. Nothing to see here. Oh yeah, I guess they did lose their franchise player to a bitter rival. And trade away a defensive stalwart. And let a couple of free agents leave. Other than that, though, it was a dull summer.

2016 Portland Trail Blazers Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

The biggest thing the Trail Blazers need to do this year is remember when the season actually starts. They were a complete mess for most of the first half of the season last year - they had just 14 wins in their first 35 games and looked like they were heading deep into lottery territory. But then they started to actually play, and things changed dramatically.

2016 Minnesota Timberwolves Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

The best move any team made this offseason? The Warriors adding Kevin Durant, obviously. Second best, though, was the hiring of Tom Thibodeau by the Timberwolves. He is an exceptional coach and pretty much an ideal fit for this team at this point. Coaching has really lacked consistency with this team for years - Thibodeau is the sixth head coach in a decade. Hopefully there can be some stability at the top here, and that can help this team reach their potential.

2016 Utah Jazz Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

I was skeptical when Quin Snyder, a Coach K disciple, was hired in Utah. He can obviously coach, but he had been banished to the fringes of the sport after a very promising start at Missouri was derailed by a mountain of recruiting violations. I was not at all convinced that he was what the Jazz needed. Two years later I have to admit that I think I was wrong. He has done a decent job so far with the team, and here in his third year with the team he has a chance to take a huge step forward.

2016 Memphis Grizzlies Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

When the Grizzlies first joined the league in Vancouver I was confident that they were going to be a major force in the league. I bought a Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves jersey the day after he was drafted, and I was hooked. It was a rough road. After two wins to start their first season they lost 19 straight and then eclipsed that with 23 straight losses later.

2016 New Orleans Pelicans Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

In the dictionary under "disaster" is a picture of the Pelicans' 2015-16 season, They were coming off a 45-win season and seemed to be a team in the express lane to the promised land. Pretty much everything went wrong last year, though, and they limped to 30 pathetic wins. The bottom fell out, and it was just horrible. Injuries were a major factor in what happened - only two players on the roster even managed to play as many as 70 games, and many key players played well under that number.

2016 Houston Rockets Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

What a mess last year was for this team. They got Kevin McHale fired early in the season, they limped through the rest of the season, and they barely limped into the postseason. The only aspect of their game that was truly at a high level was the childish whining of the now departed Dwight Howard. Very few guys can make being a giant, delusional baby look as easy as he did last year.

2016 Sacramento Kings Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

The Kings are burdened by a truly awful owner - a guy completely lacking in self awareness and willing to meddle in anything he wants to. He's a disaster, and the revolving door of coaches lately is just one symptom of the issues. Hiring George Karl was a horrible decision, but luckily it didn't last long. Now they have finally made what could be a very good idea. Because the front office in Memphis suffers form their own kind of insanity, they decided to fire a good coach in Dave Joerger.

2016 Dallas Mavericks Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

The Mavericks won a title in 2011. You can never take that away from them. They did it because the great Dirk Nowitzki was their best player, and they had built well around him. Nowitzki has always been a joy to watch, and I'll cherish every chance I get to see him from now until the end of his career.

2016 Denver Nuggets Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

Being a Nuggets fan requires, I'm sure, a lot of patience. At least there is hope, though - something that has been in short supply lately. They have a very solid coach in Mike Malone, a solidly deep frontcourt, some very promising guards, and a generally solid mix of talent. They don't have a superstar at this point, but they have guys with high ceilings and lots of room to improve. They are very, very young, though.

2016 Phoenix Suns Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2016

Last year showed fans of the Suns how dangerous hope can be. Coming into the season it seemed like Phoenix could be poised to take a big step forward and maybe even make a push for the playoffs. They had closed out the last season strong, and they had a good mix of youngsters and veterans with a coach in Jeff Hornacek who seemed dialed in to the needs of the team.

2016 San Antonio Spurs Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2016

It's going to be very odd seeing the Spurs without Tim Duncan in the lineup. He has been wearing that distinctive uniform, and winning titles, for nearly half my life. But now he has moved on. He hasn't been as effective on the court recently as he was in his prime, but he was still more than solid. More significantly, he was the face of the franchise on and off the court. It's definitely not going to be a fatal blow - there is no such thing as a fatal blow for this team as long as Gregg Popovich is still in charge.

2016 Los Angeles Clippers Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2016

The Clippers are the Clippers. Sadly, that's not nearly as good of a thing as it should be. They have had a Big 3 since before that was cool, but they have never been able to seal the deal - or even seriously threaten to seal it, really. They haven't been tough enough mentally or resilient enough physically. Doc Rivers the coach is solid enough, but he should really press ownership to fire Doc Rivers the President of Basketball Operations - that guy's a liability who isn't giving the coach the tools he needs to win.

2016 Golden State Warriors Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 10/3/2016

The Warriors. A truly great team that had two bad weeks to finish off the playoffs last year. Some teams would regroup, lick their wounds, make some minor tweaks, and hope for better next time out. That's what Cleveland did, and they wound up with a title last year. Not Golden State, though. Not at all. Instead, they went out and added one of the three or four best players in the NBA to what was already the best roster in the league.

2016 New York Knicks Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 9/30/2016

This, once and for all, is our chance to see if Phil Jackson still has anything left in the tank. He's perhaps the best coach of all time, but his time in New York has left a lot to be desired. It has left everything to be desired, really. He has made a boatload of big moves this summer and really invested in a vision. So, could this all work out great and we could see this team win 55 games and host a playoff series or two? Absolutely. But could they completely self-destruct, win 30-some games, and be thoroughly and utterly embarrassed? No question about it.

2016 Milwaukee Bucks Predictions and NBA Futures Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 9/30/2016

Two years ago the Bucks won 41 games and were the sixth seed in the playoffs. It seemed like they were a team on the rise, and they had plenty of momentum heading into last season. Then they crashed into a wall. They won just 33 games last year and spent much of the season floundering. Is it even remotely possible that just maybe having Jason Kidd as your coach isn't a great idea? Who could possibly have seen that coming?