NBA Basketball Betting: Hottest Teams Against the Spread: January 7, 2009

Below is a list of NBA basketball’s hottest teams to bet on against the spread (updated January 7, 2009) according to Alex Smart, a professional basketball handicapper featured on Touthouse.com.

If you are betting on the NBA this season, be sure to check out Alex Smart’s NBA betting analysis each day at Touthouse.com.

1) LA Lakers (27-5, 16-16 ATS, 5-0 ATS L/5 +$500)

Ever since dropping ten-straight ATS throughout the bulk of December to bury its betting backers, the Los Angeles have rattled off five-straight pointspread winners, and enter this weeks action the hottest betting ticket in the league.

It all started with an outright win against New Orleans as 2.5-point road underdogs, and the Lakers haven’t been stopped since. They got their revenge against Boston on Christmas Day, and then went on to hang 130, 113, and 100 points in their next three games to secure NBA bettors five-straight winning tickets.

They have a heavy slate of games scheduled to go this week against New Orleans, Golden State, Indiana, and Miami, with three of those four coming at home—where they’ve tallied a 10-9 ATS mark to date.

2) Washington Wizards (7-25) (14-18 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290)

No, the Wizards aren’t an attractive commodity to make any postseason noise, currently sitting at 7-25 straight-up and in last place of the NBA Southeast Division.

But that didn’t stop them from picking up four covers in their last five, with straight-up wins over Cleveland and Houston. They also managed to stay within the lofty number in the “Big Easy” against New Orleans.

The loss of Deshawn Stevenson will limit their depth for now, but Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are set to return in the coming month. For now, they’ll have to go at it a depleted bunch, but the opposition is much lesser than a week ago.

3) Oklahoma City Thunder (4-30) (21-13 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290)

The Thunder might challenge the 1971 Philadelphia 76ers for most straight-up losses in a season when it’s all said and done, but the Thunder have been one of the most profitable ATS teams this year.

They continued their assault on NBA point spreads last week by cashing their betting backer’s tickets in four of five tries. They only won one of those games outright, but covered a pair of lofty spreads in a pair of two point losses against Denver and Detroit.

4) Milwaukee Bucks (17-19) (24-11-1 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290)

Through just 36 games, new head coach Scott Skiles has transformed the Milwaukee Bucks from a Central Division laughingstock to a competitive squad both SU and ATS. This clubs produced winning marks ATS both home and away, and they currently hold a solid grasp on the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks have transformed from an offensive team that plays no defense to one that rebounds, shoots free throws at a high clip, and plays a solid brand of defense. Look for them to continue their upward trend this week with four games slated to go against sub-.500 opposition.

5) Minnesota Timberwolves (8-25) (15-18 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290)

The post-Kevin Garnett days have been tough for Timberwolves fans to stomach, but HC Kevin McHale has gotten his club to play a better brand of ball since taking over in early December. After dropping 13 in a row, the Wolves went 3-3 over their next six and cashed NBA bettor’s tickets in five of those six contests.

They head into this week's action on their first two-game winning streak of the season, and that number could balloon to six in a row if their play their cards right against Memphis, OK City, Milwaukee, and Miami this week.