NBA Basketball Betting: Good Teams To Bet the “Over” On

Article courtesy of Alex Smart, An award winning professional basketball handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting on NBA basketball season be sure to buy Alex Smart’s Expert NBA Picks.

1) Toronto Raptors (9-4 O/U): To say that over bettors have loved the Raptors recently would be a gross understatement: Toronto games have flown over the ‘total’ six consecutive times, despite some moderately high marks set by NBA sportsbooks. Allowing 100+ points in four of those six games certainly helped, as did scoring over 100 points itself in three of the six sports betting contests.

The scary part is Jose Calderon missed time with a hamstring injury; when healthy, Calderon is one of the best point guards in the league. And with Chris Bosh averaging 26.7 points per game, online bookies soon might find that they can’t set the total high enough.

A quick betting trend for NBA handicappers: Toronto games have gone "over" in all six of its home games this season.

2) Golden State Warriors (10-4 O/U): Easily the most predictable of all the teams on this list, the Warriors play at a breakneck pace that makes NBA betting fans salivate.

And with the trade acquisition of sharpshooter Jamal Crawford for the disgruntled Al Harrington, Golden State doesn’t figure to stop scoring anytime soon, nor does it figure to get any better on the defensive end.

In last night’s loss to the Wizards, the Warriors were actually “limited” to 100 points, but allowed 124 to a team that’s severely short-handed and was starting a rookie at center.

Crawford scored just nine points, but don’t count on many poor nights like that once he gets accustomed to Don Nelson’s system. And with rookie Anthony Morrow proving to be another offensive threat, NBA sportsbooks should continue to be bombarded with online wagers on the over in Warriors games.

Eight of the past 10 games have gone over.

3) Milwaukee Bucks (10-6 O/U): New head coach Scott Skiles has a reputation for getting his teams to play good defense, but apparently his players didn’t get the memo. The "over" is 7-3 in Bucks road games thus far, as they’ve allowed opponents to score 100+ points in four of their past six games, and allowed 99 in another.

Richard Jefferson is leading the team with 18.4 points per game, and having players like Luke Ridnour and Charlie Villanueva, who are allergic to defense, also makes an over sports wager a feasible option in any Bucks game.

Eight of their past 10 games have surpassed the closing number.

4) Cleveland Cavaliers (9-5 O/U): Having the NBA’s leading scorer doesn’t hurt when it comes to scoring points for Cleveland. LeBron James is averaging 28.9 points per game, while also dishing out 6.6 assists a night. Few players in the NBA command as much attention from opposing defenses, but with as talented a player as James is, he’s still able to score while also making the going much easier for his teammates.

The Cavs have scored 100 or more in eight of its past 10 games (scoring 99 in another and limiting the Nets to 82 points in the other), and for the first time in years, are able to simply outscore their opponents when necessary.

5) Sacramento Kings (9-7 O/U): Sacramento’s O/U record isn’t as impressive as the others’ on this list, but the Kings are on this list because they’re a team to follow closely. They’ve managed to score consistently despite missing their best offensive player otherwise known as Kevin Martin.

When he returns, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Kings as well as offshore sportsbooks to see if the scoring spikes and if the totals are adjusted accordingly.