The 2014-15 NBA betting season is approaching with as much hype as any campaign in recent history. There have been player shifts all over the league that have contributed to the hype, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that the Southwest division is still one of the most competitive across all divisions in the Association.
The media have been swirling like a pack of hungry sharks around the offensive discord of the Oklahoma City Thunder in this series. Is Russell Westbrook dissatisfied sharing the limelight with Kevin Durant? Is he too “me-first”? Has head coach Scott Brooks lost all conceptions of offensive game-planning?
The opening round of this year’s NBA Playoff continue this Thursday night with three games on the slate. After breaking down the betting trends and stats for all three matchups, I have come up with two winners that go together perfectly for this week’s NBA Playoffs Two-Team Parlay.
The Grizzlies have the best record in the league since Marc Gasol’s return from injury, but in Round 1 the Grizz run up against one of the NBA’s elite teams, thanks to all-world superstar Kevin Durant.
The NBA regular season comes to a close this Wednesday and while all 16 playoff spots have now been claimed, there are still a few lose ends that need to get tied up with the results of these final games.
The 76ers are putting the finishing touches on a supremely bad season but unless something dramatic happens they still won’t finish with the worst record in the league.
The news is all about the Indiana Pacers and their demise leaving the Heat as the odds on favourite to take the East, seemingly unopposed. They are still in a dogfight to capture that top seed in the Conference so any stumbles could have real consequences moving forward.
Denver has had a rough season, and will hope that a trip to Memphis on Friday will allow it to keep its current start to a winning streak alive, against the Memphis Grizzlies, are still locked in a tight battle for a playoff spot.
Memphis rolls into California on Friday, trailing host Golden State by one game in the West, and will hope that a win will provide a little separation from the eighth-place Suns, who tail the Grizzlies by just half a game for the final conference playoff spot.
The Grizzlies are playing some really good basketball right now. They are 13-5 since the All-Star break and have climbed all the way to seventh in the West standings. Phoenix, Dallas and them are separated by just a half game but only two of those three can make the playoffs.
The Memphis Grizzlies will make the trip north of the border to the Air Canada Centre for a visit with the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
The Pacers are 27-31-2 ATS with an O/U record of 30-30 and the Bulls are 32-29 ATS with an O/U record of 25-36. This season Bulls are 18-10 at home and the Grizzlies are 16-12 on the road.
The Knicks are 21-31 ATS with an O/U record of 28-24 and Grizzlies are 24-27-1 ATS with an O/U record of 22-30.
It looks like the Bulls are still trying to figure out how they are going to win (or if) without Derrick Rose. They are still an elite defensive team but they are really struggling offensively and have lost 7 of their last 10.
The Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies will face off in the Toyota Center on Thursday.
The Magic are in last place in the Southeast Division standings. One of the reasons they are there is that his team is no good on the road with just one victory in nine tries.
