BASKETBALL NBA ARTICLES

The Houston Rockets were seemingly in control of Game 3 controlling the tempo and keeping the Los Angeles Lakers at an arm’s reach throughout. Then all of a sudden, the bottom fell out and the Lakers went on to cruise to the 112-102 win and cover much to the chagrin of those that backed the Rockets plus the points. The loss came as a major disappointment for Houston who got 33 and 30 points respectively from their two superstars. Unfortunately, nobody else stepped up to the plate making Daniel H... 

When asked if there was something that needed to be changed following Game 4’s 100-93 defeat to the Toronto Raptors, Brad Stevens had this to say; “I think the biggest thing is that we’ve got to defend better at the start of the first and third quarters,” Stevens said, via the team. “That’s something that we’re paying close attention to, for sure.” After holding the Dinos to 11 first quarter points, it’s pretty safe to say the Boston Celtics earned the achievement with flying colors. In taking a... 

The Los Angeles Clippers are by far the biggest favorites to advance to the conference finals per the NBA futures odds. They are currently -1300 to beat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, and they are considered extremely likely to finish the series in four or five games. It seems as if everyone has jumped off the Denver bandwagon after their grueling 80-78 Game 7 win over Utah in the first round, so Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic will be out to silence the naysayers.... 

The Los Angeles Lakers have been waiting around for days as the Houston Rockets went the distance against the Oklahoma City Thunder to punch their ticket into the Western Conference Semifinals. It took 17 made 3-point shots to get the job done, and that’s something the Lakers will have to contend with throughout this series if it’s to advance to the conference finals. Easier said than done however with James Harden and company taking two of the three regular season meetings including the most re... 

The Los Angeles Clippers got a scare in the first round versus Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Fortunately for Doc Rivers’ squad, injuries were simply too much for the Mavs to overcome which allowed LA to seize control of the series once Dallas tied it up at two games apiece. After being forced to deal with Doncic’s scoring prowess in the opening round, the Clippers will now have to contend with arguably the hottest player in the league in the form of Jamal Murray. It almost didn’t come to... 

Boston has the nominal edge coming into its first “home game” of its series with Toronto. The Celtics smashed the Raptors in Game 1 of the series, racing out to a 39-23 lead at the end of the first quarter and holding onto that lead the rest of the way in a 112-94 victory. This could be a must-win game for Toronto if the Raptors drop Game 2 to the Celtics on Tuesday, as that would put them in a 2-0 hole. Game 3 in this series will take place on Thursday, September 3, at 6:30 p.m., and it will be broadcast on TNT as the first game in a doubleheader. ... 

Things will intensify in the Eastern Conference playoffs after the top four teams advanced to the second round by going a combined 16-1 in their opening series. The only team to lose a first-round game was the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who responded to a loss in the first game by beating Orlando in four straight. The Bucks are a big favorite to beat the Miami Heat in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, but the Heat took two of three regular season meetings from the best team in the NBA ... 

The top three seeds in the Eastern Conference went on to compile a 12-1 record in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Oddly enough, it was the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks that incurred the lone defeat. Still, Mike Budenholzer’s squad bulldozed its way to the Eastern Conference semifinals by way of taking four straight from the Magic by an average of 14.5 points per game and went 3-1 against the closing NBA odds in the process. The Miami Heat were extremely impressive in their sweep of the No. 4 ... 

Even if Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were completely healthy they wouldn’t have been able to stop the Los Angeles Clippers’ freight train in Game 5. The Clips took control of the series with an emphatic 154-111 drubbing, putting the Dallas Mavericks on the ropes. There’s hope that Porzingis will be able to play and Doncic exited early to get some much needed rest and treatment. They will be needed if the Mavs are to stave off elimination in Game 6 on Thursday. On the bright side for the Ma... 

When the pairings were set in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, it looked to be a foregone conclusion that the division rival Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors would be squaring off in the Eastern Conference semifinals. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what went down after both teams busted the brooms out on the 76ers and Nets respectively. With that, NBA bettors will be treated to arguably the best matchup of the playoffs thus far with both teams very familiar with one another after... 

The way Donovan Mitchell started the series he just may carry the Utah Jazz to a win over the Denver Nuggets. Mitchell totaled 87 points in the first two games becoming a hotter topic for Denver's defense. The Jazz's 124-105 Game 2 victory was significant since it was their first in five tries this season against their Midwest Division rival, and it was a strong reaction to their Game 1 overtime setback. Utah will look to Mitchell's hot hand when the clubs gather for Game 4 of their Western Conference NBA playoff series on Sunday. ... 

Russell Westbrook’s quest for another NBA MVP took a hit when his Houston Rockets manhandled the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener of their Western Conference Playoff first-round series without him. The teams meet Saturday in a pivotal Game 3 with the Rockets launching threes no matter who’s in the lineup. We don’t know yet if Westbrook will be available on Saturday, which puts a little damper on the series. Westbrook and Chris Paul traded places during the offseason and the teams finished with identical 44-28 records during the regular year. ... 

The Boston Celtics went off the board as -370 favorites at online sportsbooks to defeat the division rival Philadelphia 76ers entering Game 1. After taking the first two games both SU and ATS, oddsmakers now have Brad Stevens’ squad tagged as hefty -2700 chalk to seal the deal and punch their ticket into the Eastern Conference semis. For one reason or another, the betting public sided with the Sixers in Game 2 pushing the +5.5 opener down to +4.5 at the tip. Though Philly finds itself in an 0-2 ... 

The Los Angeles Lakers bubble trouble continued in the opening game of their series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. LeBron James and his mates have had all kinds of issues scoring the basketball offensively since the restart, and Game 1 was no different. The team simply wasn’t able to flip the switch as Portland controlled the game throughout. Even after coughing up the lead midway through the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard put the team on his back and led them to the outrig... 

Foul calls are up in the bubble; way up! Including technical fouls - the second called on Kristaps Porzingis with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter changed the entire landscape of the Game 1 matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers. Without the big man around to clog the paint and make an impact at both ends of the court, the Clippers would go on to log the 118-110 win and cover as 6.5-point favorites per the closing betting line at online sportsbooks. In... 

The defending champion Toronto Raptors no longer have Kawhi Leonard on the roster, but that didn’t stop Nick Nurse’s squad from logging the second best record in the Eastern Conference as well as the NBA throughout the regular season. The team went 53-19 SU and a moneymaking 40-30-1 ATS for NBA bettors. On top of that, it went 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in the bubble! Though oddsmakers initially had them installed enormous -5000 favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Brooklyn Nets have taken a good chunk of action since the series winner odds hit the board at online sportsbooks. A bit of a surprise considering the Dinos won three of the four regular season meetings and split the games against the closing NBA odds. The Nets going 5-3 SU and 6-2 ATS in the bubble just might have something to do with that! ... 

The Indiana Pacers were by far the better team than the Miami Heat in the bubble. The former went on to win six of its eight played games both SU and ATS, while the latter only notched three wins through eight tries both outright and against the closing NBA betting odds. In taking the Heat down 109-92 in each team’s final seeding game on Friday night, the Pacers earned the right to be the home team in this matchup as the No. 4 seed. That however doesn’t change the fact that Miami won all three p... 

The most intriguing first round matchup in the Eastern Conference is without a doubt the 3/6 pairing between the Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. These historic NBA franchises have locked horns in the postseason three times since the turn of the century, and it was the Celtics that came out the victor each time. That said, Philly took the 2020 regular season rivalry by taking down three of the four games both SU and ATS. However, a healthy Ben Simmons was in the lin... 

There are few teams that rank with the Los Angeles Lakers as far as public appeal and marquee branding. Only the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers from Major League Baseball along with the Dallas Cowboys from the National Football League can compare. With that name brand status comes high prices on the board. Oddsmakers know that squares flock to bet the Lakers as favorites and adjust the prices accordingly. All of which means that its hard for LA to turn a profit vs. the line, even in th... 

Fans and gamblers would be hard pressed to find a more attractive series in the first round of the NBA Playoffs than the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. Not only is this a matchup of the four and five seeds in the Western Conference but there is the added intrigue of former OKC star Russell Westbrook now playing with the Rockets. Oklahoma City was one of the most profitable teams on the board as head coach Billy Donovan compensated for the loss of Westbrook with a team approach. Meanw... 

Although the Los Angeles Lakers are favored to win the Western Conference, as well as the NBA itself, the LA Clippers are a popular pick as well. As popular as the Clippers are with the public, they still managed to turn a profit this season. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Lou Williams have been the terrific trio that have completely transformed a franchise that has always been in the shadow of the Lakers as LA’s “other team.” Luka Doncic is one of the new emerging NBA superstars and has the Da... 

Neither the Utah Jazz nor the Denver Nuggets are going to win any popularity contests with the gambling public. Rarely has either one of them been a public wagering favorite for any length of time since Karl Malone and John Stockton departed the Jazz. However, there are occasions where both the Nuggets and Jazz do provide hidden value against the more popular teams. Problematic was their inconsistent play and value during much of the 2019-20 season. Perhaps the biggest problem that each team has... 

The Milwaukee Bucks were the toast of the 2019-20 season by winning a league-high 56 games and going a moneymaking 39-34 ATS even though it went off the board favored at online sportsbooks in all but six of 73 played games; think about that for a second! The Orlando Magic finished second in the Southeast Division, but did so by way of procuring a losing 32-40 record and going 34-36-2 versus the closing NBA betting odds. With the No. 8 seed defeating the No. 1 only five times in NBA Playoffs history, it comes as no surprise to see the Bucks installed gargantuan -5000 favorites to advance into the Eastern Conference semifinals. They’ll undoubtedly be favored to win in each and every game of this 1/8 matchup. ... 

The table is set for the NBA’s first-ever play-in tournament. Thanks to Damian Lillard, who exploded inside the bubble – not literally, just on the scoring sheet – the Portland Trail Blazers earned the No. 8 seed and will face the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Portland was 3.5-games out of the eighth spot when the season shut down, but the Blazers went 6-2 inside the bubble, including wins in their last three games with Lillard totaling 154 points. They edged Brooklyn by a point on Thursday in ... 

The last game of the regular season will feature the Philadelphia 76ers taking on the Houston Rockets. Philadelphia is just 3-3 in the bubble, and all three of their victories have come against teams that are currently six games below .500. Houston has fared much better as although the Rockets are 4-2, they knocked off the No. 1 seed in both conferences, defeating Milwaukee and the LA Lakers within four days. The Rockets will almost certainly be favored according to the NBA betting odds in this ...