If you are judging the moves made before Thursday's NBA trade deadline solely on the quality of talent acquired or a need filled and not paying attention to current or future salary cap implications -- I don't pay their salaries so what do I care? -- then I would argue four teams were clear winners: Indiana, Cleveland, Brooklyn and Golden State. The latter two face off Saturday night in Oakland in what I suppose could be an NBA Finals preview if LeBron James, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan and Chris Paul all get injured or drafted into the military before the end of the season.

Brooklyn acquired shooting guard Marcus Thornton from Sacramento for Reggie Evans and Jason Terry. Evans and Terry barely played for the Nets, so no big loss there. Thornton is definitely overpaid and makes $8.1 million this season and $8.6 million next, but a few years ago he was pretty good. In 2010-11 he averaged 21.3 points per game for the Kings after they got him from New Orleans. The next season he averaged 18.7 points per game. This year, Thornton was averaging only 8.3 points and shooting a career-worst 38.1 percent from the field for Sacramento as a semi-starter. Thornton likely won't start for the Nets as they have Joe Johnson at shooting guard, but he's an upgrade over Terry in adding scoring punch off the bench. There's also talk the Nets might sign Jason Collins after working him out. They wanted to trade for Lakers big man Jordan Hill but couldn't work anything out. Collins would barely see the floor and probably is too much of a distraction to sign, but we shall see.

Golden State acquired backup guard Steve Blake from the Lakers for two guys who never played: Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. Blake is a consummate pro -- Kobe Bryant wasn't happy the Lakers traded him, for example -- who averaged 9.5 points and 7.6 assists for the Lakers this season. Blake is a solid 3-point shooter who can spell both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson off the bench.

No trades before the deadline shook up the futures odds, although I love what Indiana did. The Warriors are +650 to win the Western Conference at BetOnline and the Nets are +1800 to win the East.

Nets at Warriors Betting Story Lines

Brooklyn has started a seven-game road trip at 1-1. The Nets lost 92-76 in Chicago on the Thursday before the break, an ugly result you could sort of see coming as Brooklyn was on the second of a back-to-back. The Nets won 105-99 in Utah on Wednesday night. Johnson, who said the break was huge for his beat-up body, had 27 points, and Andray Blatche tied a season high with 25. Thornton was actually acquired on Wednesday but he hadn't yet joined the team by game time, so the Nets had a very short bench. In fact, they didn't play a single reserve guard with only seldom-used Marquis Teague available. Thornton will debut in this one. It's possible he eventually replaces Shaun Livingston as a starter in Brooklyn's three-guard lineup.

Since their 10-game winning streak ended Jan. 8, the Warriors have been rather inconsistent. They haven't won more than two straight since then, and that's a streak the Warriors are on now. They won 101-92 in Sacramento on Wednesday and looked very impressive on Thursday night in beating Houston 102-99 in overtime to end the Rockets' eight-game winning streak. Curry's sweet left-handed layup over Dwight Howard with 3.2 seconds left sent it into the extra session. Curry finished with 25 points, while David Lee had 28 points and 14 rebounds. Blake made his Warriors debut and was 1-for-5 in 18 minutes. Golden State center Andrew Bogut missed his sixth straight game with shoulder soreness and is questionable at best for this one. The team is 4-2 without him.

The Jan. 8 loss that ended Golden State's winning streak came in Brooklyn, 102-98. Golden State, which was a six-point favorite, was looking to complete the NBA's first-ever 7-0 road trip in that one. The Nets overcame an early 16-point deficit. Johnson led the way with 27 for Brooklyn. Curry had 34 for Golden State. Deron Williams missed that game for the Nets.

Brooklyn Nets at Golden State Warriors NBA Odds and Key Trends

At BetOnline, the Warriors opened as 6.5-point favorites with a total of 201.5. Brooklyn is 26-26 against the spread (12-13 on road) and 26-22-4 "over/under" (12-11-2 on road). Golden State is 25-27-3 ATS (11-14-2 at home) and 23-31-1 O/U (12-14-1 at home). The Nets are 1-5 ATS in their past six following an ATS win. The Warriors have covered just once in their past nine after a win. The over is 4-0 in Brooklyn's past four against teams with a winning record. The over is 4-1 in Golden State's past five against teams with a winning record. The over is 5-0 in the past five meetings. Brooklyn is 1-4 ATS in its past five at Golden State.

Free NBA Picks: Brooklyn Nets at Golden State Warriors Betting Predictions

I think there are two ways of looking at Golden State's win on Thursday. Either it's a springboard to a nice run or the Warriors are physically and emotionally worn out after that grueling game. Lee played 45 minutes, Andre Iguodala 39 and Curry 38. Jermaine O'Neal, who is starting in place of Bogut, played 37.  I do think the Warriors will be a bit gassed in what is their final home game until March 7, plus I'm guessing Bogut sits again. Take the points and the over.

Doc’s is giving $60 worth of member’s picks free – no obligation, no sales people – you don’t even have to enter credit card information. You can use the $60 credit any way you please on any of our top NBA handicappers. Click here to get started. Also, for a limited time only, you can get three handicappers NBA picks for the price of one! Click Here for more details!

Read more articles by Alan Matthews