NBA Handicapping Articles

NBA Betting Trends: How Teams Perform ATS with Rest
by Chris Vasile - 1/28/2016

The Golden State Warriors came out of the gates flying and got off to a 24-0 start before being upended by the Milwaukee Bucks. Steph Curry is playing like a man possessed, hitting seemingly every shot he takes (30.3 points per game) despite missing a few games due to injury. It will be interesting to see if the Warriors (42-4) can stay hot and threaten the NBA record of 72-10 for a complete season.

NBA Odds: Thursday, January 28 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/27/2016

The Los Angeles Clippers don't play on Thursday, but I want to address the Blake Griffin issue. He apparently will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, although Coach Doc Rivers says that timetable is unrealistic. Griffin was hurt after punching the team's assistant equipment manager a few times outside a Toronto restaurant over the weekend. Apparently the two are good friends and had vacationed together but were arguing about something. I'm sure TMZ will have video eventually. Griffin was one of the most disliked players around the NBA, so I'm sure many locker rooms are filled with laughter right now.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, January 27 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2016

I will be interested to see how the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors follow up Monday's highly-anticipated matchup in Oakland in their games on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Monday's game itself was pretty uninteresting unless you are a Warriors fan or gave the points. Golden State made a major statement with a 120-90 rout.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, January 26 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/25/2016

I'm starting to like the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in his crusty old age. Kobe knows his career is going to end on a down note because the Lakers obviously aren't going to the playoffs again this season. But at least Kobe isn't going down without a fight. He ripped rookie D'Angelo Russell and second-year player Julius Randle following L.A.'s sixth straight loss on Saturday night. That's the role Bryant has to play now: veteran teacher. He's not going to help the Lakers win much on the court, but he needs to instill a killer instinct in the team's future star players.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 1/22/2016

As good as the Golden State Warriors have been, the San Antonio Spurs are only two games behind them for the top seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio and Golden State meet for the first time this coming week, and I know I'm pumped to see those two teams square off. It's being reported on Friday afternoon that David Blatt has been fired by the Cleveland Cavs. The Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but their play against the best teams in the Western Conference has been awful.

NBA Odds: Saturday, January 23 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/22/2016

New on the NBA schedule this season are eight prime-time Saturday night games spread out over the second half of the season and televised nationally by ABC. ESPN/ABC's No. 1 team of Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Breen and Mark Jackson will work the "Saturday Primetime" games, which will follow a pregame studio show. It's an interesting choice because ESPN already has NBA packages for Friday night and Sunday afternoon -- some games that would have been showcased on Sundays were moved to Saturday nights.

NBA Odds: Friday, January 22, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/21/2016

OK, this is getting ridiculous. NBA players like Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan need to suck it up pride-wise and go to Hall of Famer Rick Barry, one of the greatest free-throw shooters in NBA history, and learn how to shoot from the charity stripe underhanded. It really does work. Drummond is a magnificent player, but on Wednesday against Houston and Howard, Drummond missed a league-record 23 freebies (36 attempts). If I'm the opposing team, I simply foul the guy every time he touches the ball; use up your scrub big men at times.

NBA Odds: Thursday, January 21 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/20/2016

I actually feel sorry for the New Orleans Pelicans. There's a lot of talent on that team, to the point where I believe it could be maybe the fifth-best in the West behind Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and the L.A. Clippers if the Pelicans could just get healthy all at once. But that never seems to happen and injury has struck again.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, January 20 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/19/2016

If you are a devout NBA fan/bettor like I am, you probably did just what I was planning to do on Monday night: have a few cold ones on the couch while watching the entire NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and Cavaliers, Golden State's first visit to Cleveland since winning last season's title in Game 6 there. I expected it to be a great game and was leaning Cleveland, which was the first team favored over the Warriors this season.

NBA Betting Advice: Philadelphia 76ers Possibly on the Upswing
by Trevor Whenham - 1/19/2016

The Philadelphia 76ers are a very bad basketball team. Don't let anything I say over the next 800 words or so distract you from that unavoidable fact. The truth is, though, that they aren't quite as bad lately as they were early in the season. They are 4-8 in their last 12 games - almost more impressive than Golden State's streak to start the season given how little they have to work with. So, how bad is this team? Why? And what does it all mean for bettors? Here are seven factors to consider when thinking about those three questions:

NBA Odds: Tuesday, January 19 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/18/2016

Sure, the Eastern Conference is much improved this season. But those playoffs are going to be a bore most likely as simply a cakewalk for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But how much fun is the Western Conference postseason going to be? The only three teams with at least 30 wins in the NBA are all in the West: Golden State, San Antonio and surging Oklahoma City, which has won 19 of 23 and outscored opponents by more than 11 points per game in that stretch.

NBA Betting Advice: Teams That Might be Tanking for Simmons
by Trevor Whenham - 1/14/2016

We have learned a lot so far in this college basketball season. Chief among them, though, is that LSU freshman Ben Simmons is good at basketball. Really, really good. He's averaging more than 20 points and 12 rebounds despite playing on a team so ordinary that opposing defenses can focus all of their attention on the freshman.

NBA Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Teams Against the Point Spread
by Aaron Smith - 1/13/2016

Are the Warriors going to beat the Bulls 72-10 record? It was a silly question to many at the start of the season. However, at 36-2 on the year now, the Warriors have a lot of people believing. Many books are now offering a prop bet on whether the Warriors will beat the 72-10 record of the Bulls. At most books, Golden State to win 73 games or more is now right about even money. It's something to keep your eye on as the season moves along.

NBA Odds: Saturday, January 9 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/8/2016

Remember how good Lance Stephenson was with the Indiana Pacers two seasons ago? He was the league leader in triple-doubles and averaged 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in a breakout season. The Pacers have to be so glad that Stephenson took less money to leave in free agency after that season for Charlotte. Stephenson wasn't a fit at all with the Hornets, seeing his numbers drop to 8.2/4.5/3.9. He also was a locker-room cancer. Yet I loved the Clippers' low-risk/high-reward deal this past offseason that landed Stephenson for the low price of Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes.

NBA Odds: Friday, January 8, 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/7/2016

Just when you think you've seen it all in the NBA ... something new comes along. The Portland Trail Blazers aren't very good and probably weren't going to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night regardless. But the Blazers' chances certainly diminished when the team was without second-leading scorer C.J. McCollum, a candidate for Most Improved Player in the league.

2016 NBA Championship Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 1/7/2016

There are a lot of sports - like all of them - that are a lot more fun to make championship predictions for than the NBA is right now. The NFL playoffs are about to start, and I can make a solid argument for about nine or 10 teams to win it all if things go right for them.

NBA Odds: Thursday, January 7 2015 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/6/2016

The Los Angeles Lakers chose Ohio State freshman guard D'Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has been pretty solid, averaging 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He's no Kristaps Porzingis, but that's another story. Coach Byron Scott has been bringing him Russell the bench. But the most impressive rookie on the Lakers of late has been Larry Nance Jr., the son of the former All-Star Dunk Contest winner. L.A. might have gotten a steal in Nance Jr. Scott said he should have been a lottery pick -- Nance went No. 27 overall -- and that's starting to look accurate.

NBA Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 1/5/2016

We're into 2016 now, and the NBA season isn't too far away from the midpoint. It seems as if the Eastern Conference as a whole has gotten better this year, while the Western Conference isn't quite as strong. As things stand right now, Houston and Utah would both be in the playoffs in the Western Conference with a losing record. The Eastern Conference would have no teams in the playoffs with a losing record. That is a script that has certainly flipped a lot since a couple years ago. Time will tell if that trend continues through the end of the season.

NBA Odds: Wednesday, January 6 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/5/2016

Things are going from bad to worse in Phoenix, which right now is the worst team in the NBA. The season was probably lost regardless when Eric Bledsoe was ruled out for the year, but the Suns also alienated one of their better players, forward Markieff Morris, this past offseason when they traded his twin brother to Detroit. Markieff has been sulking all year and wanting out. Other teams know this and are low-balling the Suns in trade offers.

NBA Odds: Tuesday, January 5 2016 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/4/2016

If you are a Chicago Bulls fan, you have to be thinking: "Here we go again!" Of course I'm talking about an injury to Derrick Rose. He was to have an MRI on his right knee Monday. Rose doesn't think it's anything serious, but at this point you almost have to expect it will be. He tore the medial meniscus in that right knee in November 2013 and then re-tore it in February 2015. And of course he tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2012. Rose has missed Chicago's past three games, but with a hamstring issue.