Top NBA Bets for Second Half
LAS VEGAS, NV (The Spread) – The second half is here for the NBA as the All-Star festivities are now over.
View Carlos Salazar’s Expert Picks
It’s time to get back to work and as a bettor, you have to figure out which teams are legitimate threats to win the NBA Championship and which ones are pretenders.
Let’s take a look at some of better values in the second half to win the NBA Championship and both conferences.
Miami is sitting at 9-4 to win the NBA Championship from Bovada. They struggled in the first half, going 37-14 straight up and just 22-28-1 against the spread. They are not a good value right now because Dwyane Wade is playing injured and LeBron James could use more help.
The San Antonio Spurs (11-1 to win, 9-2 to win Western Conference) are the best value right now to win the NBA title. This is a team that has four rings and should have won the championship last year had Ray Allen not made a clutch shot in Game 6. They do have some injuries right now, but none of them serious. If they are healthy, when Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard come back at 100 percent, the Spurs could win the West as they are 38-15 straight up and 25-28 against the spread. The addition of three-point champion Marco Belinelli was a very underrated move.
Another quality value right now is Houston (16-1 to win, 13-2 to win Western Conference). The Rockets picked up Dwight Howard in the offseason and after a slow start, they are starting to hit on all cylinders. The NBA Playoffs are really about halfcourt offense and while Houston can run with the best of them, thanks to Howard, they can also score down low and defend the post. If they can get more consistency out of their bench and point guard position, this is another squad that can make waves in the West.
Brooklyn is 50-1 to win the NBA Championship, 20-1 to win the East and +140 to win the Atlantic Division. This may be a stretch for the Nets to win the NBA Championship and even the East, but this is a very talented team with great experience. This will be the last shot for guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while players like Joe Johnson and Deron Williams are All-Star quality players. They have a strong bench and could shock the world once they get in.
The best race will be in the Western Conference with teams like Oklahoma City (43-12), Portland (36-17), Houston, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers (37-18) fighting it out for the top seed. The East isn’t quite as dramatic with Indiana and Miami battling it out for the East, but injuries and trades can change things quickly.
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