Caron Butler heads to Big D in big trade
While Nate Robinson was busy winning his record third slam dunk title and Dwyane Wade was putting on a show to lead the East over the West in the All-Star Game, the Mavericks and Wizards were busy on the trade front. The principal players swapped in the seven-player deal were Caron Butler going to Dallas and Josh Howard heading to Washington. The exchange means Jason Terry returns to being the Mavs' sixth man.
One confirmed trade and another that’s potentially on the way have set the tone for the two months remaining in the NBA regular season.
First of all, let’s take a look at the deal that did go down and how it’ll affect the key principal, the Dallas Mavericks.
The struggling Mavericks acquired swingman Caron Butler, center Brendan Haywood and guard DeShawn Stevenson from the Washington Wizards on Sunday in exchange for forwards Josh Howard and Drew Gooden and guards Quinton Ross and James Singleton, and the deal should improve the Mavs immediately.
That’s mostly because there’s nowhere to go but up for Dallas. The Mavericks are third-worst in the league with a 21-31 ATS (32-20 SU) record after dropping 15 of their last 20 games against the number, going a mediocre 10-10 SU along the way.
Although he’s having a down year for the beleaguered Wizards, Butler is an upgrade over Howard, who is averaging only 12.5 points per game in only 31 games played this season. Butler moves right into the starting lineup alongside Jason Kidd in Dallas’ backcourt, and gives the Mavs some lift on both ends on the floor – on a nightly basis.
The unheralded element of the trade is Haywood, but he’ll stabilize Dallas and make it a decent wager in the final 30 games. Haywood is averaging 9.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 2.1 BPG this season, and ranks in the top 30 in plus/minus at +8 per 100 possessions.
With Erick Dampier (knee) and Shawn Marion (back) banged up, Haywood and Butler will stop the bleeding in Big D.
As for the potential trade centered on Amare Stoudemire going to the Cleveland Cavaliers, look to fade the NBA’s top team in the standings if it happens.
The deal in the works as of press time early on Monday morning had Stoudemire going to Cleveland, with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson headed back to Phoenix, and it would make the Cavs worse off – at least in the short term.
I’m not sure why Cleveland wants to mess with a good thing, except to please LeBron, of course. The Cavs are a respectable 28-25-1 ATS and a league-best 43-11 SU this season, and are on a 13-game SU (8-5 ATS) winning streak heading into their game on Thursday with Denver.
Ilgauskas spreads the floor, and is the perfect counterbalance on the offensive end for Shaquille O’Neal. Hickson is emerging as a key contributor, and provides much-needed athleticism and defense on a frontline that lacks both.
Here’s the deal with Amare coming to Cleveland: Sure, it could make the Cavs an offensive juggernaut, although that remains to be seen because Stoudemire’s success has come with Steve Nash gift-wrapping dunks for him.
Stoudemire doesn’t do much else besides score. I don’t like a Cleveland team that defends on the inside with Shaq and Amare against anyone, let alone against some of these important-for-your-futures bets combinations: Howard-Lewis, Horford-Smith, Bynum-Gasol-Odom. That’s not to mention the inflated price that’ll be levied on the Cavaliers if Stoudemire comes to town.
Outside of Dallas and Cleveland, two teams to watch in the coming weeks and for the rest of the regular season are the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Atlanta and Oklahoma City are the best spread wagers in the league at 32-19 ATS, but I like the Thunder more than the Hawks. Bettors have already caught up with Atlanta, which is only 5-5 ATS (6-4 SU) in its last 10 games, while Oklahoma City is still flying under the radar (at least for now).
The Hawks have feasted on sub-.500 teams this season, going 18-8 ATS. Atlanta will give too many points to those teams down the stretch, and it’ll be harder to cover with the rigors of the long season setting in on a not-so-deep team. Look for the Hawks to continue regressing to the mean.
Expect the Thunder to be the NBA’s best bet by season’s end. The fundamentals are in their favor, especially with a relatively challenging schedule around the bend. Oklahoma City is 19-7 ATS (15-11 SU) against winning teams, and comes into the final 31 games on its schedule 7-2 against the number (6-3 SU) in its last nine contests.
You also have to like how the Thunder bounce back from adversity, which will be plentiful with a playoff push in store: Oklahoma City is 14-1 ATS this season when coming off a SU and ATS defeat.
While Nate Robinson was busy winning his record third slam dunk title and Dwyane Wade was putting on a show to lead the East over the West in the All-Star Game, the Mavericks and Wizards were busy on the trade front. The principal players swapped in the seven-player deal were Caron Butler going to Dallas and Josh Howard heading to Washington. The exchange means Jason Terry returns to being the Mavs' sixth man.
One confirmed trade and another that’s potentially on the way have set the tone for the two months remaining in the NBA regular season.
First of all, let’s take a look at the deal that did go down and how it’ll affect the key principal, the Dallas Mavericks.
The struggling Mavericks acquired swingman Caron Butler, center Brendan Haywood and guard DeShawn Stevenson from the Washington Wizards on Sunday in exchange for forwards Josh Howard and Drew Gooden and guards Quinton Ross and James Singleton, and the deal should improve the Mavs immediately.
That’s mostly because there’s nowhere to go but up for Dallas. The Mavericks are third-worst in the league with a 21-31 ATS (32-20 SU) record after dropping 15 of their last 20 games against the number, going a mediocre 10-10 SU along the way.
Although he’s having a down year for the beleaguered Wizards, Butler is an upgrade over Howard, who is averaging only 12.5 points per game in only 31 games played this season. Butler moves right into the starting lineup alongside Jason Kidd in Dallas’ backcourt, and gives the Mavs some lift on both ends on the floor – on a nightly basis.
The unheralded element of the trade is Haywood, but he’ll stabilize Dallas and make it a decent wager in the final 30 games. Haywood is averaging 9.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 2.1 BPG this season, and ranks in the top 30 in plus/minus at +8 per 100 possessions.
With Erick Dampier (knee) and Shawn Marion (back) banged up, Haywood and Butler will stop the bleeding in Big D.
As for the potential trade centered on Amare Stoudemire going to the Cleveland Cavaliers, look to fade the NBA’s top team in the standings if it happens.
The deal in the works as of press time early on Monday morning had Stoudemire going to Cleveland, with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson headed back to Phoenix, and it would make the Cavs worse off – at least in the short term.
I’m not sure why Cleveland wants to mess with a good thing, except to please LeBron, of course. The Cavs are a respectable 28-25-1 ATS and a league-best 43-11 SU this season, and are on a 13-game SU (8-5 ATS) winning streak heading into their game on Thursday with Denver.
Ilgauskas spreads the floor, and is the perfect counterbalance on the offensive end for Shaquille O’Neal. Hickson is emerging as a key contributor, and provides much-needed athleticism and defense on a frontline that lacks both.
Here’s the deal with Amare coming to Cleveland: Sure, it could make the Cavs an offensive juggernaut, although that remains to be seen because Stoudemire’s success has come with Steve Nash gift-wrapping dunks for him.
Stoudemire doesn’t do much else besides score. I don’t like a Cleveland team that defends on the inside with Shaq and Amare against anyone, let alone against some of these important-for-your-futures bets combinations: Howard-Lewis, Horford-Smith, Bynum-Gasol-Odom. That’s not to mention the inflated price that’ll be levied on the Cavaliers if Stoudemire comes to town.
Outside of Dallas and Cleveland, two teams to watch in the coming weeks and for the rest of the regular season are the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Atlanta and Oklahoma City are the best spread wagers in the league at 32-19 ATS, but I like the Thunder more than the Hawks. Bettors have already caught up with Atlanta, which is only 5-5 ATS (6-4 SU) in its last 10 games, while Oklahoma City is still flying under the radar (at least for now).
The Hawks have feasted on sub-.500 teams this season, going 18-8 ATS. Atlanta will give too many points to those teams down the stretch, and it’ll be harder to cover with the rigors of the long season setting in on a not-so-deep team. Look for the Hawks to continue regressing to the mean.
Expect the Thunder to be the NBA’s best bet by season’s end. The fundamentals are in their favor, especially with a relatively challenging schedule around the bend. Oklahoma City is 19-7 ATS (15-11 SU) against winning teams, and comes into the final 31 games on its schedule 7-2 against the number (6-3 SU) in its last nine contests.
You also have to like how the Thunder bounce back from adversity, which will be plentiful with a playoff push in store: Oklahoma City is 14-1 ATS this season when coming off a SU and ATS defeat.
and from bench: Terry, Rip, Barea