NBA Weekend Betting: January 28

With football season coming to a close next week sports betting attention increasingly turns to hoops, and the NBA, as playoff races begin to heat up. And this weekend the Association offers up what should be some pretty good ball.

Saturday's slate is headlined by the Dallas Mavericks hosting the Atlanta Hawks (8:30 pm Eastern), while Sunday's slate looks like one created with the absence of football in mind. First, LeBron James and the Miami Heat and Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder hook up for an interconference affair in the OKC (1 pm Eastern, ABC). Then comes a rematch of last year's league title series as the two-time defending champion LA Lakers host the Boston Celtics (3:30 pm Eastern, ABC).

How important is Dirk Nowitzki to the Mavs? With the big German Dallas started 24-5 this season. Then, with Nowitzki out with a knee injury, the Mavericks went 2-7. They then went 1-3 in his first four games back with the team last week, but have since won three in a row and look like they may have regained some mojo.

Dallas is also 21-15 vs. the BetJamaica.com pointspreads this season with Nowitzki, and 2-7 ATS without him. And the Mavs beat the Hawks in their first meeting this season back in November 98-93 in Atlanta.

The Hawks won five in a row earlier this month but are only 3-3 over their last six. Last Friday they scored 59 points in a home loss to New Orleans.

Miami has lost two of three g... [More]

NBA Weekend Betting: January 21

The NFL playoffs will get most of the ink this weekend, but the NBA isn't going anywhere and will continue to offer up interesting betting opportunities.

Among some of the better Association bouts this weekend - the New York Knicks travel Saturday to Oklahoma City to take on Kevin Durant and the Thunder; the San Antonio Spurs, who are on pace to win 70 games, are in New Orleans on Saturday to play the Hornets; and Sunday the Denver Nuggets, soldiering on amidst swirling trade rumors, host the Indiana Pacers.

Going into a game at San Antonio on Friday night New York has lost four in a row to fall off the pace in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks now hold down the six spot in the conference standings, and trail fifth-seeded Orlando by 4.5 games. Still, NY is 25-15 vs. the BetJamaica.com pointspreads this season, and an impressive 16-6 ATS on the road.

OKC has lost a couple of games in a row itself, although they're still tied for the lead in the Northwest Division. But the Thunder had a tough time throwing the ball in the hole those last two games, making just five of 37 attempts from 3-point range.

These two teams met a month ago at MSG as the Knicks shot 49% from the floor and held OKC to 39% shooting in a 112-98 New York victory.

San Antonio has won seven in a row and leads the West by six games over the second-place Lakers. New Orleans, meanwhile, has won six straight games and owns the six spot in... [More]

Football Betting: Divisional Playoffs

This Saturday's NFL Divisional Round offers up a couple of the most-anticipated playoff games we can remember.

The action kicks off with what should be a real gut-checker, as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens in a game that almost means more than just moving on in the playoffs (4:30 pm Eastern, CBS). And after that the Atlanta Falcons, somewhat unsung as the top seeds in the NFC, host the current darlings of many in the football media, the Green Bay Packers (8 pm Eastern, Fox).

We at BetJamaica.com started Pittsburgh out as a 3-point favorite over Baltimore, with the total posted at 36.5. A nice solid line for what should be a good defensive battle. And as of Friday morning the line has held steady at -3, although bettors now only have to give -120 on  the Steelers instead of -130 - so some action has been coming in on the Ravens. And the total has been bumped to 37.

We also started Atlanta off at -1 over Green Bay, with a total of 45.5. But we've been getting play on the Falcons, so we're now listing them at -2.5. And as bettors study the earlier meeting this season between these two teams, many are backing the UNDER. So we've dropped the total on this game to 43.5, which is a big move on our NFL betting board.

What can be said about these two games? The Ravens and Steelers are only the bloodiest rivalry in the league at the moment, and the Falcons and Packers present what a lot of folk... [More]

Football Betting: Wild Card Weekend

The NFL's second season starts Saturday with a couple of interesting Wild Card matchups.

In the NFC the Seattle Seahawks, division champions despite a losing record, open things up when they host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints (4:30 pm Eastern, NBC). And the New York Jets try to get a little revenge from last year's conference championship game loss when they again visit the Indianapolis Colts (8 pm Eastern, NBC).

BetJamaica.com opened the Saints as 10.5-point road chalk over the Seahawks, with an OVER/UNDER of 44.5. And while the spread has held steady into Friday betting, the total has dropped to 44, possibly due in part to the weather forecast.

For those who think Seattle might pull off the upset Saturday, BetJamaica.com is offering the Seahawks at +450 on the moneyline.

We started Indy out at -3 over the Jets, and also with a total of 44.5. And both those numbers remained the same in early betting.

And for those who think New York could win straight-up, BetJamaica.com is listing them at +120 on the moneyline.

Seattle went 7-9 this season, which was enough to win the NFC West and get the four seed in the NFC. New Orleans, meanwhile, went 11-5 this season, which was only good enough to place second in the NFC South, and get a five seed in the NFC playoffs.

The big news out of Seattle... [More]