NBA Betting and the Playoff Race
By Richard Gardner
The NBA trade deadline came and went last week with a few notable deals and now it’s time for the race to the playoffs. Bodog is ready and our NBA betting lines and NBA playoffs betting are ripe for the picking, so let’s get take a look at how things are shaping up…
The New York Knicks acquired Tracy McGrady from the Houston Rockets at the deadline in a deal that was more about freeing up next season’s cap space to take a run at pending free agent LeBron James than this season’s competitiveness. But McGrady can still play as he showed Saturday in his New York debut, putting up 26 points in a losing effort against Oklahoma City.
The Knicks have been a losing wager against the spread on most nights for NBA bettors, even though they’re getting points more often than not. Could McGrady help the Knicks finish strong?
Coincidentally, the team that spoiled McGrady’s debut, the Thunder, has been a great bet most of this season. Oklahoma City finished last year with a record of 23-59, so expectations were hardly through the roof in October.
The Thunder didn’t exactly start the season on fire, either; on Christmas Day, they were a modest 14-14. Since then, however, it’s been mostly victories, with Kevin Durant emerging as a true NBA star. The win over the Knicks was the eighth in a row for Oklahoma City – the ninth followed the next day – and Durant is currently battling King James for the most points per game in the league.
Still, we’re not seeing a flood of betting action on the Thunder like we would if the Lakers or Celtics went on a big run. That’s partly because bettors don’t yet trust the team and also because its fan base is relatively small. Not to say we’re not seeing an increase in wagers on Thunder games, but it’s not like we have to adjust the point spread in a big way to draw interest on their opponent.
As for the Thunder’s NBA title odds, they’re currently at 40/1 to win it all, with 10 teams getting lower odds than that.
The two futures favorites continue to be Cleveland and the Lakers, both at 2/1. For obvious reasons, the action has been steady on these two squads.
As for a team that might be a worthwhile long shot, how about the Toronto Raptors at 80/1? Or, at least, 35/1 to come out of the East?
The Raps have gotten steadily better after a slow start that saw them with a losing record in late January. But heading into Wednesday’s game versus Portland, Toronto had improved to 31-24.
The Raps have a big game Friday at home to the Cavaliers, a game that could show whether they’ve got a chance to make some noise in the postseason or not.