NBA ATS Countdown
By: Cajun Sports
We are back with another edition of our NBA ATS Countdown where we take a look at the Top Five NBA teams against the spread. In this issue we take a look at not only ATS situations but Total situations and a Key Angle for each team in an effort to help you find consistent winners. This edition has one change at number five, the Bucks were able to regain that spot after having the Celtics knock them out in our last countdown. Here are the Top Five
The number one team is still the Orlando Magic as they secured that spot by posting a 4-2 ATS record since our last issue. Orlando has been able to consistently stay on top by winning both at home with a 16-9 ATS mark and on the highway with a record of 18-7 ATS. A key situation to watch for with the Magic is when they are playing on two days rest, they are perfect in this situation with a 9-0 ATS record averaging 104.4 points per game and allowing only 93.0 points per game. Here are a few more ATS situations that the Magic excel in, road underdog 9-1 ATS, facing Western Conference opponents 19-5 ATS, 4-0 ATS when playing back-to-back road games and 20-9 ATS after winning against the spread in their previous game. Key total situations for the Magic are when they are playing at home, 9-15-1 ‘under’ and as a favorite going 15-23-1 ‘under’ on the year. Key Angle: Orlando after losing straight up and against the spread on the road now face a non-conference opponent with a line range of 4 to 5.5 points are 27-2-3 ATS.
The Cleveland Cavaliers hang onto the number two spot in our countdown with a 3-3 ATS record since our last edition for an overall mark of 32-17 ATS on the year. The Cavs lead the way at home with the best record in the NBA at 18-6 ATS after posting a 2-1 ATS record since our last issue on their home floor. The Cavs posted a record of 1-2 ATS on the road with an overall record of 14-11 ATS on the road this season. Cleveland stayed perfect after suffering a SU loss as they go 1-0 ATS in their next game for an overall record of 9-0 ATS in that situation this season averaging 103.9 points per game and only allowing 85.6 points per game. When the Cavs are coming off one day of rest you may want to consider the ‘under’ as they have gone 8-15 ‘under’ in that situation this season. Key Angle: Cleveland after losing straight up but winning against the spread on the road and now installed as a conference home favorite they are 22-5-1 ATS.
The third spot in our countdown is occupied by the Oklahoma City Thunder who used a 4-2 ATS record to reach this spot in our last countdown but saw their fortunes change this time with a 1-4 ATS mark but it did not cost them their third place ranking. The oddsmaker’s caught up to this Thunder team and have now done a good job of posting solid numbers on them which is why we saw such a dramatic change in their ATS performance since our last countdown. The Thunder are 30-20-1 ATS on the season, 15-8 ATS on the road and 27-14-1 ATS when installed as an underdog. They are a solid 18-8 ATS after winning against the spread in their last game. Here are a few key total situations to watch for with the Thunder, when playing with no rest they are 9-2 ‘over’, back-to-back road games have seen them go ‘over’ at a rate of 4-0 ‘over’ this season and if they are playing a back-to-back with the first game at home and the second on the road they are 5-1 ‘over’ on the year. Key Angle: OKC after losing against the spread and going ‘under’ in their last game and now installed as a favorite of 12 to 13.5 points are 0-14 ATS.
The fourth spot in our countdown is held by the Charlotte Bobcats who used a solid 6-1 ATS run to gain the fourth spot in our last issue but only managed a 2-3 ATS run this time which was enough to hold onto the fourth spot for another countdown. The Bobcats are 30-21 ATS on the season overall and that includes a 14-9 ATS mark on the road where they average 91.0 points per game and allow their opponents to score 96.6 points per game. Charlotte has been at its best when facing opponents from the Southeast Division posting a record of 8-1 ATS for 88.9 percent winners and averaging 89.3 points per game while holding opponents to 89.7 points per game. The Bobcats have a couple key total situations to watch for when they are installed as a home underdog they are 5-10-1 ‘under’ and when facing an Eastern Conference opponent they have gone ‘under’ at a rate of 11-20-1 this season. Key Angle: Charlotte after losing straight up and against the spread in their last two games and are now involved with a line range of 8 to 9.5 points are 13-1-2 ATS.
The fifth and final spot welcomes a past member back to the countdown as the Milwaukee Bucks used a 3-2 ATS mark to take the fifth spot away from the Boston Celtics. Well Boston certainly helped by posting a record of 2-4 ATS since our last issue which actually dropped them to eighth overall. With the Bucks return we see that they are 14-10 ATS when playing on their home floor averaging 102.8 points per game while holding opponents to 97.3 points per game. When the Bucks travel we see their points per game are reversed although their ATS mark is close with a 16-12-2 ATS record averaging 95.9 points per game and allowing 100.3 points per game on the season. Milwaukee seems to favor teams from the southern divisions when it comes to covering the spread with records of 9-3 ATS versus teams from the Southeast Division and a record of 6-0 ATS when facing teams from the Southwest Division. One key total situation to watch for with the Bucks is when they are installed as a home underdog they go ‘over’ the posted total at a rate of 6-1 averaging 109.7 points per game while allowing 106.3 points per game on the year. Key Angle: Milwaukee after losing both SU and ATS plus going ‘over’ at home in their last game and now face a division opponent on the road have gone 8-20-1 ATS.