Tag: basketball betting

San Antonio Spurs Threaten to Usurp Warriors After Durant Injury

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With less than six weeks until the playoffs, an injury to star player Kevin Durant has threatened to derail the chances of NBA Championships favourites the Golden State Warriors. Without him, the Warriors have lost twice in a row and the supremely consistent San Antonio Spurs are now hot on their heels in the race to emerge as the top seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors are now no longer a sure thing in the west, and that has blown the race to the Finals wide open, making the season more exciting than ever.

Western Conference

Durant sprained his knee in a freak accident that occurred when teammate Zaza Pachulia backed into him while fighting for a rebound. The team initially feared he would miss the rest of the season, but the prognosis now looks a little more positive as he might make it back in time for the playoffs. But by that time, Golden State could have been overtaken by San Antonio as the number one seed in the west. After losing Durant they suffered back-to-back defeats to the Wizards and Bulls, the first time in 146 games they had lost twice in a row – an NBA record. They missed his ability to stretch the court, and the Golden State offence has looked out of sync as opposing teams have crowded Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are 9-1 in their last 10, the best record in the league, and are on a seven-game winning streak. They are now just three wins behind Golden State and are driven by the constantly improving offensive prowess of Kawhi Leonard. This has pushed Golden State out to 2/5 with Betfred for the west, while San Antonio is now 9/2 with William Hill, which looks a very interesting bet. Even if Durant makes it back in time for the playoffs he could be carrying an injury still, and suddenly the Warriors do not look quite as invincible.

Eastern Conference

The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have been putting pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers for top seed in the Eastern Conference for some time and that has continued. At 7-3 in their last 10, the Wizards have the best recent form in the east, which makes the 12/1 888Sport is offering on them to win it look an intriguing option. But the Cavs look back in business now that LeBron James is strapped up and ready for the home straight and the team has been bolstered by Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut and most of the action is likely to go on Cleveland, who are 4/11 with Sky Bet, William Hill and Boyle Sports.

MVP Race

Despite topping most player power rankings since Christmas, James Harden has failed to pull away from Russell Westbrook in the betting for regular season MVP. With just six weeks to go, Harden is evens with William Hill, while Westbrook is 6/4 with Bet Victor. What counts against Westbrook, however, is that the Thunder are not a great team and a lot of his hard work goes unnoticed. Harden’s Rockets are a genuine threat to Golden State and San Antonio in the west and he has emerged as the best point guard in the league this season with the stats to back it up, so even money at William Hill looks great right now.

Upcoming Games

A huge game that could help decide the ultimate Western Conference table sees Harden’s Rockets travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs. It should be close, but recent form points to a San Antonio win and the 3/5 at Bet365 looks good. On Wednesday the in-form Wizards are at the Phoenix Suns and should cover a heavy spread against a team committing 15.1 turnovers per game. On Thursday, Celtics v Warriors looks too close to call, but a treble of the Spurs to beat the Kings, the Wizards to beat the Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks to beat the Brooklyn Nets looks great.

Jazz, Spurs and Hawks offer value in divisional betting

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The past week has seen the Golden State Warriors embark on a three-game winning streak to leave their win record at .850 and strengthen their grip on the Pacific Division. They are just 1/100 to win it, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are also 1/100 to win the Central Division. Both are looking nailed on, but there is plenty of value in predicting who will finish first in the other four divisions, which are all very much up for grabs.

Northwest Division

This looks like a two-horsed race between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz has recorded their best record at the midway point of a season since 2010-11 and hold a slender lead over the Thunder. But Oklahoma City is hot on their heels and have a real superstar in Russell Wilson, so it should prove a close fought battle. Still, the Jazz is better defensively and will take confidence from beating the Cavaliers last Tuesday, so they should just sneak it in and the 8/11 Paddy Power is offering looks good.

Southwest Division

Another intense battle here is developing between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. In James Harden, Houston has a player vying with Wilson to be named MVP, and he recently inspired them to an eight-game winning streak. But two straight defeats saw Houston fall to 31-11, leaving them narrowly behind the Spurs, who are 31-9. Alongside Golden State, the Spurs are the NBA’s form team at present. They have the league’s best offence, and over the last month they have had the best defence, so they are topping power rankings lists and should finish just ahead of Houston, making the 1/3 Bet365 is offering look good for an accumulator.

Atlantic Division

The Toronto Raptors lead this division ahead of the Boston Celtics, but the Raptors are an inconsistent team, losing to the Bulls and the Rockets this past week, before recording hugely impressive victories over the Celtics and the Jazz. That defeat will have hurt the Celtics, who are 8-2 in their last 10, compared to 5-5 for the Raptors, and will harbour hopes of overhauling them over the course of the season. The Raptors are 10/19 with Bet365, but the 7/4 Coral is offering on the Celtics looks interesting as Isaiah Thomas and Larry Bird are in sensational form.

Southeast Division

Arguably the poorest division, this could be taken by any one of three teams: the Atlanta Hawks (13/10 with Coral), Charlotte Hornets (9/4 with William Hill) or Washington Wizards (13/4 with 888Sport). None of them ranks in the top 10 teams this season for win percentage. The Hornets looked in the driving seat a couple of weeks ago, but four straight defeats for them coincided with seven wins in a row for Atlanta, leaving the Hawks ahead of them. The 13/10 looks a good bet on Atlanta and could make a nice treble with the Jazz and the Spurs.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday sees the Jazz travel to the struggling Phoenix Suns. Utah really should be winning this game and the odds of 4/9 reflect that, but you can get 10/11 with Paddy Power on the Jazz -4.5, which looks a good bet. On the same day, an out of sorts Thunder travels to the LA Clippers, who are on a six-game winning streak and should win it at 4/9 with Sky Bet. One game to look out for is in-form Atlanta at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The Pistons are 8-17 against teams with a win percentage better than .500, and Atlanta should beat them and cover a decent spread.

Spurs, Warriors and Raptors look good for treble

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The past week has seen the Golden State Warriors embark on another winning run and their season win percentage now stands at a remarkable .857, with a record of 24-4. That percentage is the third best of all time, and if they keep it up they will start threatening to break the all-time record of .890 they set last season. In that phenomenal campaign, they broke the record set by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1996, but they still weren’t good enough to win the NBA Championship as they lost to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the final.

The Warriors have responded in style this year, but they are not having it all their own way in the Western Conference, as the excellent San Antonio Spurs are on 22-5, with a win percentage of .815 currently leaving them 15th on the all-time list. Last year the Spurs ended on .817, the joint eighth best record of all-time. They lost to the Thunder in the playoff semifinal, but have proven themselves modern greats, and are on course for another fantastic season.

Western Conference

Bookmakers are offering lines on the amount of regular season games various NBA teams will win this season, and have most of them covered. The 10/11 Bet Victor is offering on the Spurs to win more than 57.5 games currently looks like a brilliant bet. Last season they won 67 games and, despite the retirement of long-time captain Tim Duncan, they are in very similar form this year and on course to once again reach 67 wins. It has not been quite so generous with the Warriors, who have to win more than 67.5 games in the over/under betting, again at 10/11. They should cover this, though. They are in superb form and finished with 67 wins two seasons ago, when they went on to win the Championship, and bettered that with the record breaking 73 last season. They are currently on course for 70 or 71 wins and should, therefore, be good to get at least 68. A double on the Spurs and the Warriors would get you odds of 41/25, which looks great.

Eastern Conference

The Cavaliers’ .760 would only leave them third in the Western Conference, but they are comfortably leading the Eastern Conference, with second-placed Toronto Raptors back on .704. They may not be as consistent as the Warriors or the Spurs, but James is a big game player, and they look good to win the conference again this season – they are 4/9 with Paddy Power to do so. Whether they will win more than 67.5 games (the over/under benchmark set by bookmakers) is another matter, however. The freak defeat to the Grizzlies last week should set alarm bells ringing, and that bet might be best avoided as they are currently on course for 62. A better bet could be on Toronto Raptors getting over 50.5 wins, at 4/5 with Bet Victor. Last season they got 56, and this time they are on course for 57. Put Toronto in a treble with the Warriors and Spurs and you get 139/25.

Upcoming Games

On Wednesday, a huge game sees the Spurs play the form team of the league, the Houston Rockets, who are on a 10-game winning streak. Someone has to put an end to it sooner or later, and the Spurs can be the team to do it, so backing them outright might be a good idea. Another good team, the Utah Jazz, play the Warriors on the same day, but with the way the Warriors are playing at present you would expect them to cover a reasonable spread. The Raptors play the struggling Brooklyn Nets and should cover a large spread. The Cavs play the Bucks twice in quick succession, but might be best avoided after they went 1-1 against the Grizzlies last week when they played twice in a row. Then it’s the big game on Christmas Day, where the Warriors travel to Cleveland looking for revenge for their final defeat last season. Given the way the form is going, the pendulum has shifted to the Warriors, who are currently looking good to get a road win at 20/21 with Paddy Power.