NBA Who’s Hot and Who’s Not
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NBA Who’s Hot and Who’s Not – Feb. 20
The NBA returns to action this Thursday night following its annual All-Star break to mark the start of the official push to the postseason. It is no big surprise that Golden State has the best straight-up record in the league at 47-9 and that Cleveland is one again leading the Eastern Conference standings at 39-16, but it has actually been teams such as Philadelphia in the East and New Orleans in the West that caught bettors’ attention heading into the break.
According to the closing spread at BetAnySports, the 76ers have been able to cover against the spread in their last five games while going 3-2 SU. They covered as 10-point road underdogs in last Wednesday’s 116-108 loss to Boston after beating Charlotte SU in a 105-99 victory on Feb. 13 as 7.5-point underdogs on the road. The total went OVER BetAnySports’ closing line in four of those five games. Philadelphia will be back in action on Friday night at home against Washington.
The Pelicans have been hit or miss all season long at 23-34 SU with a 27-29-1 record ATS, but they were able to win three of their last four games both SU and ATS right before the break. Last Wednesday they went on the road as eight-point underdogs and beat Memphis 95-91. The total stayed UNDER BetAnySports’ 205-point closing line in that game and it has stayed UNDER in New Orleans’ last three games. The Pelicans play host to Houston this Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Clippers were another hot team in the West before the All-Star break with a 5-1 run ATS in their last six games. There current SU winning streak reached four games with last Wednesday’s 99-84 rout of Atlanta as 3.5-point home favorites with BetAnySports. The total stayed UNDER 213.5 points in that win and it has stayed UNDER in four of their last six games. The Clippers will start their run towards the postseason on the road against Golden State on Thursday night.
If you are looking for a team to go against right now, the Portland Trail Blazers would fit the bill with a SU 1-5 record in their last six outings while failing to cover in all six games. Three of those ATS losses came as favorites and the total has stayed UNDER in three of their last five games. Portland will try and end this extended slide on the road this Thursday night against Orlando.
