NBA Hot Bets This Week
The NBA is now in full swing and our eight-month marathon of the pro basketball season is underway. Matt Fargo will be looking into Hot and Cold NBA bets throughout the season and he takes a look at four games that you will want to pay attention to.
Tuesday – Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls 8:30 PM ET
At first glace this may seem like a hot spot for the Sixers to avenge their loss to Chicago at home on Sunday. However, that is not the case as the Bulls will be in a good position to make it back-to-back wins over Philadelphia. I have brought up this Chicago annual roadtrip a few times and one of the best spots falls into place on Tuesday since it is the first home game for Chicago following that trip and first home game since November 15th. Over the last five years, the Bulls have won and covered the first home game right after the circus roadtrip all five times and by an average of 11.2 ppg. The Sixers are struggling with four straight losses and it does not get easier with the Lakers and Pistons on deck after this. The acquisition of Elton Brand was supposed to make Philadelphia a challenger in the Eastern Conference but right now, it is 8.5 games behind Boston and sitting in 11th place in the conference standings.
Wednesday – New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers 7:00 PM ET
Cleveland has gotten off to an incredible start as it is 14-3 on the year (13-4 ATS) including a 9-0 record at home (7-2 ATS). It faces off against the Knicks for the second time in just over a week following an 18-point win in New York in the first meeting. The Cavaliers led by as many as 34 points while the Knicks never led so it is safe to say it was a dominating performance. The success the Cavaliers are having is driving their lines up but that isn’t fazing them at all. They have been a double-digit home favorite in four straight games and they have covered all of those games. Two of those covers only came by a bucket but Cleveland is showing it can win big at home and it will go for a fifth straight double-digit home cover. New York will try to play better this time around and starting the season 8-8 is definitely a good sign but going 2-5 on the road (2-5 ATS) will prove to be a problem against the Cavaliers once again.
NBA Cold Bets This Week
Tuesday – Washington Wizards at New Jersey Nets 7:30 PM ET
For one night, there was a thought that maybe the firing of head coach Eddie Jordan would actually turn the Wizards around. They started the season 1-10 (3-8 ATS) and Jordan was let go following a loss to the Knicks. Ed Tapscott took over as interim coach and Washington put together its best game of the season, as it won over the Warriors in a wire-to-wire 24-point blowout. 
It didn’t take long to get back to reality as the Wizards have dropped their two games following that and now must hit the road where they are 0-6 (2-4 ATS) on the season and 1-10 (3-8 ATS) dating back to last season. They now take on a red hot Nets team who has come out of nowhere. Picked to finish last in the Eastern Conference by many, New Jersey is 9-7 on the season and has won three straight, five of six and seven of nine (7-2 ATS) after a 2-5 start (3-4 ATS). The most surprising part is that it has won five of its last six on the road.
Thursday – San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets 10:30 PM ET
The Spurs money train had a nice run by covering in seven of eight games following a dismal 1-6 ATS stretch to start the season. The value got onto the Spurs side following that bad start as the public was down on them with the record as well as two starters, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, being out with injuries. Ginobili made it back and then Parker three games later but a loss to the Rockets by 19 points stopped the money cashing run. Now healthy once again, San Antonio is not going to be seeing a lot of value in its numbers and this looks like the time to start fading. Denver is showing that its trade with the Pistons is helping both sides as it is now 12-6 on the year (11-6-1 ATS) and is currently in second place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have already taken out the Spurs once this season in San Antonio and will look to get it done at home against a full Spurs team this time.
