Another extremely exciting week of action in the Association has seen us cross halfway. As we begin to enter the stretch run, you’ll see some of the top teams playing with a bit more energy. Golden State and Toronto both appear to be in very solid form, both on long winning streaks as they look to claim the #1 seed in their respective conferences. Let’s take a look at how the last week of action has impacted the NBA from a betting perspective.
James Harden’s Hot Week
The improved recent play of James Harden has seen Houston go on a surge of late, now finding themselves firmly in the West playoff picture. Harden has received a ton of praise for his strong performances, and now finds himself co-favourite for MVP at $2.75. His play has been nothing short of breathtaking over the past week, averaging 38.6 points, 10.2 assists, and 8 rebounds over his last 5. This has been even more impressive considering the absence of Chris Paul. Whilst Giannis has been excellent this season, Harden does look good to take out the trophy at odds of $2.75.
Improving Juggernauts
Both Golden State and Toronto appear to have taken their play to a new level over the past week. Toronto currently enjoys a 5-game winning streak, whilst Golden State have won an impressive 4 straight. The #1 spot in the conference will be on the line when they travel to Denver on Wednesday. These two sides are currently the firm favourites in our Championship betting market, with Golden State sitting at $1.65 and Toronto at $7. Getting the #1 seed will make it that much easier for each of these sides to secure themselves an NBA Finals spot.
Miami Taking Control of the South East
Improved recent form has seen the Miami Heat now take control of the South East division. They find themselves 2.5 games up on the Hornets and a further 3 games ahead of the Magic. Miami have won 4 of their last 6 games, largely due to consistently solid play from Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside, and Justise Winslow. Boasting one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, Miami has done an excellent job dealing with injuries to key players like Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, and Dion Waiters. They currently find themselves at $2.10 to take out the South East, which looks very solid given their current lead.
Denver Pulling Away from OKC
Another interesting development that has emerged is Denver looking like the frontrunner to take home the Northwest crown. Having won 8 of their last 10 games, they now find themselves 3 games up on the Thunder. Center Nikola Jokic has been phenomenal of late and has been capably supported by both Jamal Murray and Paul Millsap. OKC themselves have had a mini-slump of late, losing 3 straight games to open up this gap. Given that we’re already halfway through the season and Denver owns the tie-breaker over the Thunder, they now look a solid bet to take home the North West. At $2, it’s hard to ignore the value.
Updated ATS Trends
Having covered 4 of their last 5 games, the Kings now lead the NBA with an ATS record of 25-17-1 this season. Dallas enjoys a record of 25-17 ATS, whilst the Spurs have been 26-18. Solid seasons from the Bucks and Clippers also see them round out this top 5.
On the other side of things, it isn’t a surprise to see the Cavs as the worst ATS side in basketball, sitting at 19-24. Toronto and Golden State also find themselves in the bottom 5, likely due to the high numbers they are tasked with covering each night. With ATS records of 18-24 and 18-25 respectively, the Grizzlies and Wizards both also find themselves in the bottom 5.