Lots of Good NBA Betting Values For Serious 'Cappers Who Pay Attention

[Dr. Jack]

In horseracing, sometimes you can find a ‘good thing’ in a bad race. You know the kind.



The 12-horse fields of cheap maiden claimers that make up for most of the cards in the country are usually jig saw puzzles. Well, on occasion, one can spot a runner that flashed just a little something in his last race. The odds are usually decent and it’s a bad race anyway, right?



In happens in hoops, too. Bad teams cover every night. Over confidence is a natural thing. Teams are always looking ahead, checking out the stars in the league, see who is talking the smack.



While back at the arena, the ‘have nots’ of the league are seething.



Every mark in the sport’s book knows Shaq is hurting, that Kobe is yelling at his teammates and that Portland is just one search warrant away from packing in the season.



Only some of the sharps know about a nagging injury to a veteran or a young player on a weak team that has a gripe with tonight’s opponent to make it a personal battle.



Enter the Memphis Grizzlies. Hubie Brown has done a nice job since taking over the reins. His guys have played hard and there is some talent there. And for a team that only won 2 of the first 17 games of the season, they are holding their own against the number at 8 and 9.



They covered 5 of 7 through December 1 including overtime losses to the T’Wolves and the Lakers. Rookie Drew Gooden has thrived and Jason Williams has proved coachable under Brown’s direction. Shooting guard Gordon Giricek is the real deal. He is no ordinary rookie at 25 and the Croatian can flat out shoot the rock.



Memphis’s spread record is no fluke. Last year the Griz only won 8 games on the road but they were a game over .500 ATS as away pups.



Another young team that can offer value is the Golden State Warriors. They started the year horrible losing 6 of 7 straight up, then a funny thing happened. The started to buy into Coach Mussleman’s defensive philosophy.



In an 8-game stretch through 11/30, no opponent hit triple digits. And the Warriors covered 5 of those 8. With Bobby Sura likely out for an extended period, the front office made a super pick up in the diminutive Earl Boykins.



All Boykins did was score 20 in a win over the Nuggets proving he isn’t shy about taking the shot with the game close. Gilbert Arenas is playing with great confidence at the point, a position many said he could not handle. Antawn Jamison is the go-to guy but he is now surrounded with athletes.



After 17 games the Bay Area Bombers were 10-6-1 against the number and a super 5-1-1 as away dogs.



On the other end of the spectrum, Dallas won 16 of their first 17 games covering 11 including the only time they were pups on the road.



The Pacers also proved to be a reliable favorite. On top of the Central division with 14 wins, Indiana covered 11 times and was a potent 7-2 against the number at home.



CASHING TICKETS

Keep an eye on these up-coming betting opportunities. Cleveland visits the Windy City on Dec. 7. Rookie Dajuan Wagner is back for the Cavs and he has already shown flashes but the NBA is the ultimate work in progress. Pay back is always sweet. The Cavs handed the Bulls their collective heads Dec. 4 so revenge will be the motive. Look for somebody to stop Ricky Davis from getting to the line and for somebody to put a body on Carlos Boozer. The Bulls lost 5 in a row recently on the road but at home they have beaten the Nets and Hornets. Jalen Rose blooms and homers should win by close to double digits.



Western powerhouses meet Dec. 8 with the Kings invading San Antonio. The Kings covered and won 3 of 4 vs. Spurs last year including an OT victory in Texas. Spurs disappointing early in the year. They seem to rely so much on Tim Duncan that other guys are not involved. Bobby Jackson is better than any Spurs guard and Kings have the range to shoot over any kind of zone. With Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu and Mike Bibby ailing, Kings picked up Jim Jackson out of mothballs. The guy once went for 50 in this league. Kings won’t get trumped here.



Jealousy is a horrible trait. So is revenge but don’t tell the guys that play in The Swamp. Nets shot 29.5% from the field in loss to Suns 11/27. I have a gut feeling they will be out early for the shoot around. Suns were 13-18 as away dogs last year. They got crushed in Jersey last year by 19 when getting only a bucket and a half on the line. Jersey started year super, covering in 7 of 8 as home chalk. When Nets are home, the break comes easier, the basket seems bigger, Kidd seems move fluid and it’s as close as it gets to the old school days of showtime.



The Jersey bench is much better than people think. Seven-footer Jason Collins has old-school class. He has a sweet touch, is active around the hoop and being from Stanford, he doesn’t make the mental error. He can’t afford to now with Dikembe Mutombo out for 2 months. Kittles is hurt but believe it when I say Lucious Harris can step in. The Long Beach State baller had 23 the other night, played all but 7 minutes and shot 50% from the floor.