Spreading the Wealth
The gap between the richest Americans and the poorest is the more distinct now than just before the Great Depression but for our purposes ‘spreading the wealth’ will be all about looking at how the National Basketball Associations teams are doing against the spread.
It’s hard to believe but more than a quarter of the regular season in the NBA has already flown by and although the elite teams like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs are starting to sort themselves out betting value can be had with these teams and some of the lesser known lights.
Take for instance, the Atlantic Hawks, who are trying to break into the top echelon of the Eastern Conference. They played and beat a lot of weak teams early in the year to record a plus 6 through their first 24 games but that 15-9 record does not tell the true story of how to bet on or against this team.
They started the season 10-14 against the spread but a much more telling number is fact they only covered 2 of their first dozen home games.
That is something bettors can monitor and maybe delve into if that trend continues.
One of the biggest NBA surprises so far has been the New York Knicks, who kicked off the season losing 2 of their first 3 games but have turned it around big time of late posting wins in 12 of their last 13 outings.
Again, this does not begin to touch the surface of the Knicks value. Know that in their first 14 road games, New York covered all but two.
The young Washington Wizards, who have been struggling with the injuries to cagey rookie John Wall, are a very hard team to trust on the road. Of their first dozen room service games, they only covered 4, the same record as the anemic Charlotte Bobcats.
Traditionally, the teams that win on the road straight up are the cream of the crop in his league.
Enter the Mavericks, who added bulk and defensive weapons in the off-season. They only lost 4 of their first 22 games but only failed to cover once in 8 road games.
There will be prime times to bet against good teams this year and a tread is already starting to show in the land of Magic.
Orlando has had some problems so far as a flu bug that hit the team and put a few guys in bed for awhile but what they have not done is shown the ability to step up and play well away from Orlando.
In the Magic’s first 11 games, they only covered the spread twice away.
Granted, this is a small sampling, but one of the keys to successful wagering is trying to identify a trend before the masses get the clue.
Most of the teams in the league will be tested big time as the long season wears on, but don’t be shy to try to take advantage of these early indications.
