NBA Basketball Betting: Hottest Teams Against the Spread: December 11th 2008

Below is a list of NBA basketball’s hottest teams to bet on against the spread (updated December 11th 2008) 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) Cleveland Cavaliers (18-3) (17-4 ATS) (10-0 ATS +$1000.00): With all due respect to the Celtics and Lakers, no team is playing as well as the Cavs right now. That’s what setting an NBA record will do, as Cleveland did by winning its ninth straight game by at least 12 points this week, a feat no team in the league’s history has accomplished. The Cavaliers are punishing teams with their balance and depth. Oh, having the most complete basketball player on Earth also helps. The Cavs rank first in the NBA defensively, allowing just 90.4 points per game, and have been almost as good on the other end, ranking third in scoring churning out 104 points per game. Cleveland bettors have been just as punishing to online bookies this season, and that betting trend may not stop anytime soon, as the upcoming schedule isn’t exactly daunting. Even with a difficult schedule, though, it might not matter; this team is steamrolling opponents on a nightly basis. Needless to say, Cleveland has made NBA betting easy thus far. Lay the points and expect to cash in at the window a couple hours later…

2) Milwaukee Bucks (9-14) (15-7-1 ATS) (7-3 ATS +$370.00): While the Bucks have been as bad as NBA handicappers predicted they would be at the start of the season, they have been surprisingly good against the sports betting line. Don’t be mistaken: Milwaukee isn’t a good team. But placing an online wager on them has been a winning proposition thus far. It seems that NBA sportsbooks have yet to properly value them. Milwaukee is also finally healthy, with Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut at 100 percent, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise if they continued to be competitive. The Bucks have put forth a 7-3 ATS mark in their past 10 games.

3) Denver Nuggets (14-7) (13-7-1 ATS) (7-3 ATS +$370.00): Chauncey Billups has helped Denver turn the corner, providing stability at the point guard position and giving them a proven leader on the floor. Carmelo Anthony is starting to get healthy, and Nene is having a career year. Even if the Nuggets aren’t one of the truly elite teams out West, they should still continue to thrive against the bottom-feeders. However, road games against Dallas and Houston and a home game against the vaunted Cavaliers loom this coming week.

4) New Jersey Nets (11-8) (12-7 ATS) (7-3 ATS +$370.00): The Nets are one of the NBA’s biggest surprises, and have the look of a team poised to make the basketball playoffs in the Eastern conference. Devin Harris has been a revelation, averaging 24.4 points and 6.1 assists since being handed the reigns for the first time in his career. His play at the point has also reinvigorated Vince Carter, who is benefitting first-hand from Harris’ break-neck pace. Betting online on New Jersey has proved to be lucrative thus far, and could continue to be if offshore sportsbooks continue to disrespect them.

5) Charlotte Bobcats (7-14) (12-9 ATS) (6-4 ATS +$160.00): The Bobcats haven’t had much success in the W/L column, but they’ve managed to make a profit for Charlotte bettors. A pretty good defense has kept them in games in which they’ve been big underdogs, and Larry Brown coached teams always give 100% till the clock reads double zeroes. Tread carefully this week though: After acquiring Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary for leading scorer Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley, this team could have a completely different identity than it has had through the first 21 games of the season.