NBA Marketwatch Edition 5 2009-10

SportsMarketwatch
NBA Edition
11/25/2009 5:00 PM EST
By The Team at SportsInsights.com

Hey, Happy almost Thanksgiving!  Welcome to the NBA edition of Sports Marketwatch, wherethe Team at SportsInsights gives sports fans an unprecedented glimpse into the NBApoint-spread marketplace. If you ever wanted to know what was really happeningon the sportsbook side, you now have an all-access pass with Sports Marketwatch!Initially, the NBA Edition of Sports Marketwatch will be a weekly columnpublished on Wednesdays, normally around 5PM, Eastern Time.

The staff at SportsInsights.com analyzes the marketplace, and especially thesports betting industry’s largest and most reputable sportsbooks, to identifywhich games the public is chasing and which ones the Sharps are pounding. Let’stake a look at what’s in store for tonight’s NBA games.

SportsMarketplace – NBA Edition

Last week continued Marketwatch’s early-season streak of rotten luck.  TheSpurs certainly had the quality for the cover, but Dirk Nowitzki took control inOvertime on the way to a 99-94 Mavericks victory.  Our other featured gamecan be summed up quite simply by Portland point guard Andre Miller’s post-gameline.  “We relaxed,” he said to reporters, referring to a fourth quarterwhen the Trail Blazers allowed a 20-point lead slip all the way down to 1.Come on, Andre.  Just work hard through early summer, and you can have afull three months to relax.  Portland failed to cover the ten-point spread,winning 87-81.

2009-10 NBA Games to Watch: 2-6, 25%*
*Source: SportsInsights.com

Philadelphia 76ers +13 over Boston Celtics

Boston’s recent play has made Coach Doc Rivers pretty adamant that all the talkabout a 70-win season needs to stop.  In their last five games, they havemanaged to lose three and defeat the New York Knicks by two points in overtime.In the betting world, it appears that the Celtics may have been overvalued evenearly on, as they have put up a meager 3-11 record against the spread thisseason.  Philadelphia hasn’t been a juggernaut by any means, but they haveplayed a number of close games against superior teams.  Andre Iguodala saidrecently that he considers himself one of the best defenders in the league, andhe’ll have the opportunity to show it tonight against Paul Pierce.

Boston’s recent disappointments haven’t convinced the bookmakers that therest of the league has actually caught up.  They opened as 12.5-pointfavorites at Pinnacle and CRIS and are receiving solid public support, to thetune of 59% of spread bets.  The line has grown to -13 in spite of somesharp money our systems have caught on Philadelphia.  Smart Money playsfrom Olympic (+7.55 Units Won) and BetOnline (+3.09) are enough to persuade usto take the points and expect Boston to continue to play down to itscompetition.

Philadelphia +13 

Milwaukee Bucks +2.5 over New Orleans Hornets

Most NBA fans are aware, by now, of the breakout of rookie phenom BrandonJennings.  He dropped 55 points on Golden State and has generally brought abit of swagger to the 8-4 Milwaukee Bucks that hasn’t been present in thatfranchise for years.  Losing big man and former #1 overall pick AndrewBogut to injury won’t help them over the next month, but the return ofsharpshooter and Olympian Michael Redd should be a boon.  The Hornets,meanwhile, also have young players learning on the fly.  Rookie DarrenCollison has filled in admirably for injured star Chris Paul, and rookie forwardMarcus Thornton is starting to earn major minutes as well.

The Hornets opened as 4-point home favorites and are getting a slight publicnod, specifically 54% of spread bets.  The line, though, is not reflectingthis action, as it currently sits at New Orleans -2.5 across the board.Some significant Steam has come through on Milwaukee, most notably triggered byOlympic (+6.6 Units Won).  We’ll take the upstart Bucks to continue theirhot 8-4 ATS start.

Milwaukee +2.5

Games to Watch: 2-6 = 25%
Philadelphia +13
Milwaukee +2.5

It should be an exciting night in the sports marketplace. Keep SportsMarketwatch picks handy and your browser pointed to SportsInsights.com for thelatest real-time updates, using our exclusive Sports Investing tools.We’ll be back next Wednesday with the new edition of the Sports Marketwatch –NBA Edition.

Enjoy the games!

The Team at SportsInsights.com