Heat And Thunder Early Powers In NBA Standings

The Los Angeles Lakers are .500, the Dallas Mavericks have the worst record in the Western Conference, and the only team in the supposedly stout Atlantic Division that is outscoring its foes this year is the Philadelphia 76ers. It is all part of the wild NBA betting season that is just getting underway.

Today, we are taking a look at some of the teams that are hot and some that are not, and we’re taking a look at the NBA schedule in the few days ahead.

We’ll start in the Sunshine State, where the teams are on absolute fire. The Orlando Magic and Miami Heat have combined to win nine games in a row, though they are only 5-4 ATS to show for those nine games. They are both going to have some big spreads to cover this week.

The Heat, who are remarkably only 2-3 ATS despite outscoring their foes by 12.2 PPG on the campaign, have the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers at home on Monday and Wednesday.

The Magic take on the Detroit Pistons on Monday at the Palace at Auburn Hills, and then come home to take on the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards are probably the worst team in the NBA this year, and they are certainly going to stay that way if they keep playing offense like this. John Wall is only shooting 32 percent from the field and hasn’t made a three-point basket all season long, and he is still pacing an offense that hasn’t scored more than 86 points in a game this year.

Needless to say, Washington is 0-4 SU and ATS (and 0-4 towards the 'over'), and has to deal with the Boston Celtics and the aforementioned Magic in a pair of road games on Monday and Wednesday respectively.

Out West, the four teams that were in the Western Conference Semifinals last year continue to be tremendous teases. The Oklahoma City Thunder are 5-0 SU, but they are only 1-3 ATS in their last four games. The defending NBA champs 1-4 SU with the Mavericks just a bit better versus the spread at 2-3. The Memphis Grizzlies are only 1-3 SU and ATS. And of course, the Lakers are 3-3 both SU and ATS and struggling to make headway.

This week, OKC and Big D take each other on yet again on Monday night in a game that can be seen nationally on NBA TV. To make matters worse, the Thunder have to come back home on Tuesday to face the Portland Trail Blazers, a team that is very quietly 3-1 SU and 2-1-1 ATS and is outscoring foes by 7.5 PPG.

The only team with a perfect ATS record this season is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sure, the team is just 1-3 SU to show for its four games of work, but it is a stingy club that is playing a lot better defense this season than you would think. The T-Wolves take on the San Antonio Spurs and the Grizzlies this week, so the road ahead won’t be easy, but as seemingly is always the case, you’ll be catching a lot of points on the NBA odds in those battles.