Cavaliers still cruising and covering spreads
Cavaliers still cruising and covering spreads
And the Oscar for the NBA team most likely to cover the spread goes to...Mo Williams and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The addition of Williams has turned the Cavs from 'LeBron and Four Other Guys' into a true title contender this season, and Cleveland backers couldn't be happier cashing 36 times in 54 outings. The Detroit Pistons are at the other end of that chart, covering the number just 20 times so far in 2008-09.
Apparently they handed out some gold statuettes on Sunday. But they couldn’t have mattered, because none of the awards went to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dressed appropriately in their gold and wine throwback unis from the early 1970s, the Cavs did a musical number on the Detroit Pistons Sunday night, cruising to a 99-78 victory as 9-point home favorites to improve to 43-11 SU and a league-best 36-18 ATS. The Pistons are now 27-27 SU and a league-worst 20-34 ATS. We certainly hope you cashed in on this game – the fruit doesn’t hang any lower on the tree.
It shouldn’t be this easy for an already-elite team to exceed expectations. But that’s exactly what’s happening in the Eastern Conference this year. The defending champion Boston Celtics are 45-12 SU and 32-25 ATS. And the Orlando Magic, last year’s Southeast Division champs, are back on top at 41-14 SU and 35-19-1 ATS. How are they doing it?
Turns out there was still room for improvement for all three teams – and it came at the most important position on the floor. The Cavs added point guard Mo Williams in the offseason; he’s given Cleveland 20.5 points per game as well as another pure shooter to space the floor for LeBron James. Boston’s Rajon Rondo (13.7 points, 10.2 assists and 6.4 rebounds/40) is turning into Jason Kidd before our eyes, and Orlando enjoyed a strong bounce-back year from Jameer Nelson (21.5 points, 6.9 assists/40) before his season-ending shoulder injury.
Detroit’s tailspin began with the decision to trade veteran pivot Chauncey Billups to Denver in the Allen Iverson deal. This not only doomed the Pistons to mediocrity for at least one year while Rodney Stuckey develops, it also threw the Nuggets a lifeline – they lead the Northwest Division at 37-19 SU and 31-24-1 ATS. You’ll find a similar money pattern with the Toronto Raptors (22-36 SU, 22-34-2 ATS), who dealt T.J. Ford to the Indiana Pacers (24-34 SU, 31-25-2 ATS) in the failed Jermaine O’Neal experiment.
Looking forward, perhaps we’ll see the Phoenix Suns stage a revival in the desert. They essentially reduced Steve Nash to a secondary role in the offense by hiring defensive-minded coach Terry Porter to replace Mike D’Antoni. Nash’s Player Efficiency Rating dropped from 21.04 to 17.73, and the Suns were at the bottom of the money charts at 28-23 SU and 17-31-2 ATS heading into the All-Star break. Four games into the Alvin Gentry Era, and the Suns are 3-1 SU and ATS with Nash putting up 15.3 points and 10.3 assists per contest.
Suns supporters could also make a mint on the total from here on in. They were doing just fine against the betting odds before the coaching change by driving the over to a 28-22 record. You can make that 32-22 now. Phoenix scored at least 140 points and gave up 100 in each of their first three games with Gentry at the helm. Then the Suns, sans Amare Stoudemire, lost a 128-108 final to the defensively gifted Celtics – sans Kevin Garnett.
Boston (under 30-26-1) could be in for a strong run of overs while Garnett misses the next 2-3 weeks with a strained right knee. He’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and definitely an upgrade over his current replacement in the starting lineup, the inestimable Brian Scalabrine. His best attribute is his three-point shot; Scalabrine was 2-for-4 from downtown against Phoenix.
Here are the Top 5 and Bottom 5 ATS teams at the end of Sunday’s action, plus the best of the over and under clubs.
Top 5 ATS
Cleveland: 36-18
Orlando: 35-19-1
N.Y. Knicks: 32-23
Milwaukee: 33-24-2
Charlotte: 32-24
Bottom 5 ATS
Detroit: 20-34
Washington: 21-34-1
Memphis: 21-33-1
L.A. Clippers: 22-34
Toronto: 22-34-2
Top 5 Over
L.A. Lakers: 34-21-1
L.A. Clippers: 34-21-1
Indiana: 34-32-1
Phoenix: 32-22
Milwaukee: 34-25
Top 5 Under
Philadelphia: 31-20-3
Detroit: 31-22-1
Cleveland: 30-24
Charlotte: 30-24-2
Portland: 29-24-1
And the Oscar for the NBA team most likely to cover the spread goes to...Mo Williams and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The addition of Williams has turned the Cavs from 'LeBron and Four Other Guys' into a true title contender this season, and Cleveland backers couldn't be happier cashing 36 times in 54 outings. The Detroit Pistons are at the other end of that chart, covering the number just 20 times so far in 2008-09.
Apparently they handed out some gold statuettes on Sunday. But they couldn’t have mattered, because none of the awards went to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dressed appropriately in their gold and wine throwback unis from the early 1970s, the Cavs did a musical number on the Detroit Pistons Sunday night, cruising to a 99-78 victory as 9-point home favorites to improve to 43-11 SU and a league-best 36-18 ATS. The Pistons are now 27-27 SU and a league-worst 20-34 ATS. We certainly hope you cashed in on this game – the fruit doesn’t hang any lower on the tree.
It shouldn’t be this easy for an already-elite team to exceed expectations. But that’s exactly what’s happening in the Eastern Conference this year. The defending champion Boston Celtics are 45-12 SU and 32-25 ATS. And the Orlando Magic, last year’s Southeast Division champs, are back on top at 41-14 SU and 35-19-1 ATS. How are they doing it?
Turns out there was still room for improvement for all three teams – and it came at the most important position on the floor. The Cavs added point guard Mo Williams in the offseason; he’s given Cleveland 20.5 points per game as well as another pure shooter to space the floor for LeBron James. Boston’s Rajon Rondo (13.7 points, 10.2 assists and 6.4 rebounds/40) is turning into Jason Kidd before our eyes, and Orlando enjoyed a strong bounce-back year from Jameer Nelson (21.5 points, 6.9 assists/40) before his season-ending shoulder injury.
Detroit’s tailspin began with the decision to trade veteran pivot Chauncey Billups to Denver in the Allen Iverson deal. This not only doomed the Pistons to mediocrity for at least one year while Rodney Stuckey develops, it also threw the Nuggets a lifeline – they lead the Northwest Division at 37-19 SU and 31-24-1 ATS. You’ll find a similar money pattern with the Toronto Raptors (22-36 SU, 22-34-2 ATS), who dealt T.J. Ford to the Indiana Pacers (24-34 SU, 31-25-2 ATS) in the failed Jermaine O’Neal experiment.
Looking forward, perhaps we’ll see the Phoenix Suns stage a revival in the desert. They essentially reduced Steve Nash to a secondary role in the offense by hiring defensive-minded coach Terry Porter to replace Mike D’Antoni. Nash’s Player Efficiency Rating dropped from 21.04 to 17.73, and the Suns were at the bottom of the money charts at 28-23 SU and 17-31-2 ATS heading into the All-Star break. Four games into the Alvin Gentry Era, and the Suns are 3-1 SU and ATS with Nash putting up 15.3 points and 10.3 assists per contest.
Suns supporters could also make a mint on the total from here on in. They were doing just fine against the betting odds before the coaching change by driving the over to a 28-22 record. You can make that 32-22 now. Phoenix scored at least 140 points and gave up 100 in each of their first three games with Gentry at the helm. Then the Suns, sans Amare Stoudemire, lost a 128-108 final to the defensively gifted Celtics – sans Kevin Garnett.
Boston (under 30-26-1) could be in for a strong run of overs while Garnett misses the next 2-3 weeks with a strained right knee. He’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and definitely an upgrade over his current replacement in the starting lineup, the inestimable Brian Scalabrine. His best attribute is his three-point shot; Scalabrine was 2-for-4 from downtown against Phoenix.
Here are the Top 5 and Bottom 5 ATS teams at the end of Sunday’s action, plus the best of the over and under clubs.
Top 5 ATS
Cleveland: 36-18
Orlando: 35-19-1
N.Y. Knicks: 32-23
Milwaukee: 33-24-2
Charlotte: 32-24
Bottom 5 ATS
Detroit: 20-34
Washington: 21-34-1
Memphis: 21-33-1
L.A. Clippers: 22-34
Toronto: 22-34-2
Top 5 Over
L.A. Lakers: 34-21-1
L.A. Clippers: 34-21-1
Indiana: 34-32-1
Phoenix: 32-22
Milwaukee: 34-25
Top 5 Under
Philadelphia: 31-20-3
Detroit: 31-22-1
Cleveland: 30-24
Charlotte: 30-24-2
Portland: 29-24-1