Welcome to our NBA ATS Countdown Issue 10 for the 2008-09 NBA Season. The Countdown takes a look at the league’s top five teams against the spread. As we do in most issues we not only look at ATS situations for the NBA’s top five teams we also look at their most profitable total situations and provide a key angle for each team. Here are the league’s top five take a look…
Orlando holds the number one spot as they have for most of the season. In our last issue they were 3-3 ATS leading up to that edition but still managed to hold the top slot this time they performed much better posting a record of 5-3 ATS. The Magic are 42-23 ATS overall on the year which includes a record of 19-13 ATS at home which ranks sixth but they are number one when it comes to cashing in on the highway with a record of 23-10 ATS as a visitor. Orlando is perfect when facing teams from the Pacific Division going 10-0 ATS and 9-1 SU. A key total situation for the Magic is when they are installed as a home favorite they have gone ‘under’ at a rate of 11-19-1 for a 63.3 percent winning situation this season. Key Angle: Orlando is 8-0 ATS coming off a road game and facing a non-conference opponent on the road with an average score of Orlando 111.1 to 101.4 for their opponent.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have used their number one ranking at home to hold the number two spot in our countdown for yet another issue. The Cavs are 41-29 ATS overall including a remarkable 22-7 ATS when playing at home. The road has been their kryptonite if they have any weakness going 19-17 ATS when playing away from the “Q”. With a 5-4 ATS record since our last countdown the Cavs have been unable to make up any ground on the Magic. It seems like each time they make an ATS run the Magic match their run or perform just a little better, it must be that Disney magic? Our search for potential profitable situations uncovered the fact that the Cavs are 12-1 both SU and against the number when coming off a SU loss. We also note they are 15-26 ‘under’ when coming off an ATS win in their previous game for a 63.4 percent winning total situation. Key Angle: Cleveland as a favorite after going ‘under’ on the road is 16-1 ATS with an average score of 106.4 to 91.3.
Charlotte retains the third position in our countdown with a 39-26 ATS overall record on the season. This Bobcats team has remained one of the hottest teams against the spread posting a record of 10-4 ATS over our last two issues and just completed a nice 5-2 ATS run for a 15-6 ATS record over our last three countdowns. Charlotte is 20-14 ATS at home and 19-12 ATS on the road this season. Charlotte has done extremely well against the Southeast Division when it comes to covering the number with an 11-2 ATS mark during the 2008-09 campaign. For total’s players Charlotte is 13-22-1 ‘under’ coming off a SU loss for a 62.9 percent winning situation. Key Angle: Charlotte is 6-0 ATS as a division road underdog with an average score of 90.7 to 93.8.
Oklahoma City Thunder make another appearance in our Countdown, they were knocked out by Charlotte in our last issue. Oklahoma City is 38-26-2 ATS overall on the season including number two on the road with a record of 20-13 ATS and a home record of 18-13-2 ATS which is good for seventh place. The most profitable situation for the Thunder is when they are coming off an ATS win in their previous game going 23-11-1 ATS for 67.6 percent winners. Another key situation for Oklahoma City has been when they are installed as a home underdog posting a record of 15-8-1 ATS on the year. Our key over/under angle for the Thunder is when they are a home underdog the games fall well below the posted total at a rate of 9-15 ‘under’ for 62.5 percent total winners. Key Angle: Oklahoma City after losing ATS at home and now on the conference road have posted a perfect record of 7-0 ATS this season with an average score of 99.7 to 105.9.
The fifth and final position in our Countdown is held by newcomer the New York Knicks The Knicks are 37-27-1 ATS including an 18-15 ATS home record which is good for ninth but their road record is third in the league with a 19-12-1 ATS mark on the year. The Knicks also provide us with more profitable over/under situations than any other team in our Countdown. New York is 5-0 ATS in the second game of a road back-to-back and they are also 5-0 ‘over’ in those contests. When the Knicks are playing on their home floor they are 20-13 ‘over’ and if they are installed as a home underdog the games sail over the total at a rate of 12-5 ‘over’ for 70.6 percent winners. It doesn’t seem to matter if the Knicks have rest or not as we see in road back-to-backs they go ‘over’ the total in the second game and coming off 3+ days of rest they have gone a perfect 4-0 ‘over’ this season. Key Angle: New York Knicks as an underdog after going ‘under’ the total in their last two games are 11-1 ATS with an average score of 105.4 to 101.5.
This concludes another edition of our NBA ATS Countdown with the NBA regular season nearing its end we will have one more regular season issue and then our NBA Playoff ATS Preview in the coming weeks. Please remember to be safe and as always good luck.
Robbie