NBA Weekend Betting: February 25

We might need to round up some programs to keep track of all the player movement that went down this week around the NBA. And many of those deals just make things more interesting as the league heads into the home stretch of this regular season.

Friday's NBA betting slate at BetJamaica.com features a mess of good games. In a matchup between playoff hopefuls the 31-27 Utah Jazz visit the 26-30 Indiana Pacers (7 pm Eastern). The 29-26 New York Knicks, with their new stars in tow, are in Cleveland to play the 10-47 Cavaliers (7:30 pm Eastern). In an intriguing interconference battle the 36-20 Oklahoma City Thunder visit the 36-22 Orlando Magic (8 pm Eastern, ESPN). Deron Williams is expected to make his debut with 17-40 New Jersey as the Nets visit the 47-10 San Antonio Spurs (8:30 pm Eastern). Out in SoCal it's the battle of Los Angeles as the 21-37 Clippers and the 40-19 Lakers meet at Staples Center (10:30 pm Eastern). The 34-25 Denver Nuggets, who revamped their roster earlier this week, and the 32-25 Portland Trail Blazers, who just traded to get Gerald Wallace, tangle at the Rose Garden (10:30 pm Eastern, ESPN).

And, as part of their seven-game trip through parts of the Western Conference, the 34-23 Atlanta Hawks visit the 26-30 Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm Eastern).

Utah just traded Williams to Jersey, getting Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and draft choices - which is a needed shake-up for a team that's lost ... [More]

NBA Weekend Betting: February 18

A collection of the NBA's best (and most entertaining) talent gets together at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this weekend for three days of competitions and fun, capped off by the playing of the 60th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night (8 pm Eastern, ESPN).

As of Friday morning BetJamaica.com is waiting to offer betting on the All-Star Game, but we should have some numbers up and open for action within the next 24 hours.

The NBA All-Star Game, of course, is often a showcase for individual talent, and the games often play out as little more than glorified scrimmages. Winning and losing don't mean much in this game, which can make it tough to bet on and even just to put a line on. One thing that seems certain, though, is that there will be a lot of points scored.

Last year the East beat the West 141-139; the year before the West won 146-119; the year before that the East won 134-128; and the season before that the West won 153-132. That's an average of 273 PPG those last four All-Star contests. The average NBA regular season game this season has seen a total of 198 points scored.

Thanks to his Boston Celtics posting the best record in the Eastern Conference at the break Doc Rivers will guide the East on Sunday. Rivers also coached the East to a 134-128 victory over the West in the 2008 All-Star Game.

And on the strength of his San Antonio Spurs putting up the best record in the Western Conference (not... [More]

NBA Weekend Betting: February 11

The NBA regular season has already passed the 50-game mark, which means the fighting for playoff spots and seedings is already heating up. And with a lot of teams very much alive in the race for the playoffs, a lot of Friday and Saturday's games have potential postseason implications.

On BetJamaica.com's NBA board for Friday the San Antonio Spurs, still the owners of the best record in the league, visit the current seven-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers (7 pm Eastern). Also, the New Orleans Hornets, who hold down the five spot in the West, visit the Orlando Magic (7 pm Eastern); The defending league champion LA Lakers are in New York to take on the Knicks (8 pm Eastern, ESPN); And the Utah Jazz, under a new head coach for the first time since Reagan was president, host the Phoenix Suns (10:30 pm, ESPN).

Saturday the Charlotte Bobcats, who are only a game out of the eight spot in the East, visit the Atlanta Hawks (7 pm Eastern). And the Chicago Bulls, the current three-seed in the East, meet the Hornets in New Orleans (8 pm Eastern, WGN).

As of Friday morning BetJamaica.com is listing the Spurs at -3.5 over the Sixers; the Hornets at +9 vs. the Magic; the Lakers at -3 over the Knicks; and the Jazz at -6 over the Suns.

San Antonio is 32-18 vs. the pointspreads so far this season, 17-7 ATS on the road, and 11-6-1 ATS as a road favorite.

Phill... [More]

NBA Weekend Betting: February 4

The Super Bowl will drown out most other sports betting action this weekend, but that doesn't mean there aren't some good things going down in the NBA before Sunday's big football game.

Saturday Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are in New Orleans to take on the Hornets (8 pm Eastern); the Memphis Grizzlies, who have recently inserted themselves into the Western Conference playoff picture, hit Houston to play the Rockets (8:30 pm Eastern); in a Northwest Division showdown the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder visit the third-place Utah Jazz (9 pm Eastern); and the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls are on the west coast to tangle with Monta Ellis and the Golden State Warriors (10:30 pm Eastern, WGN).

For Sunday's warmup to the Super Bowl Blake Griffin and his Los Angeles Clippers hit South Beach to play LeBron James and the Heat (noon Eastern); the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers meet on the back end of a weekend home-and-home at MSG (noon Eastern); and the Boston Celtics, still the top team in the East, host the Orlando Magic (2:30 pm Eastern, ABC).

The Lakers got beat at the buzzer Thursday night by San Antonio, and have lost five of their last nine games to fall 7.5 games back of the first-place Spurs in the Western Conference. And their recent skid includes losses to the Clippers and the Kings.

New Orleans, meanwhile, has followed up a 10-game winning streak by losing three of its last four. So the Hornets, the current five seed... [More]

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]