With the first half of what’s been a hectic lockout shortened NBA season in the books, we’ve seen plenty of unpredictable play. But, here are a couple teams that have developed some interesting trends worth thinking about when action picks back up.
The Heat are quickly becoming the force many feared they would be.
To close the first half, the Heat put together an impressive streak of eight victories by double-digit margins. Even though they were giving 9 or more points in 5 of those games, they were 7-1 ATS over that span.
It looks like Miami’s big three is finally gelling as an actual team, and finding a true balance. Their gritty and defensive minded supporting cast has made them one of the best teams in the league on D, and few squads even have the personnel capable of stopping their undeniable offensive talent.
Barring any unexpected injuries, count on the Heat to carry their recent dominance as they compete with Chicago for home court in the playoffs. I’d take a hard look at the spreads for all of the Heat’s games, and look for some opportunity. Be wary of betting against them, and if they aren’t giving too many, consider making the play.
Betting against Washington on the spread has been smart money all year.
The Wizards have been an interesting team to watch. With budding stars Javale Mcgee and John Wall, they’ve got some talent, but definitely haven’t found a way to turn it into anything productive. They don’t play all that intelligently, and their inconsistent play is predictable enough to lead to some heavily bad blowouts on their end.
In the last part of our NBA mid-season recap, we examined how accurate handicappers have been this season. That’s definitely not true when talking about the Wizards though, as their record against the spread is 10-23 this year. It doesn’t seem like the Wizards are going to be getting their act together anytime this season, so keep that stat in mind from here on out.
