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The NBA can sometimes be a sport that requires weeks of leaving alone from a handicapping standpoint. It’s just one of those sports that is so long that consistency wanes from team to team periodically. This can be difficult to judge on a nightly basis when it comes to handicapping. That and it’s one of the few sports that trends can actually help you when it comes to sports betting.

One area that the NBA is probably the best for is season totals. Teams often don’t go through major changes like in MLB, NCAAF, NCAAB, or the NFL as far as severe injuries and benchings. You know first hand who is the primary star player, role players, rookies, and veteran depth.

Lets take a look at a few NBA win totals you can get in now before the season starts next week and profit on in April.

Cleveland Under 58.5— This is an awful high number for a team put together in the span of a summer. Key stars such as LeBron James and Kevin Love are paired with veteran signings of Mike Miller, Shawn Mario and others. Lets not forget this team has very young pieces as well with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. They’ve had two years together and have failed to blossom with each other. I see this total falling short by a few games.

Denver Nuggets Over 40.5—- The Nuggets led by Brian Shaw were one of the teams that had severe imbalance last season. But towards the end of the season they started to show some promise. They have strong young assets in Faried, Lawson, and perimeter shooting. The West is tough but if healthy I like this Nuggets team to eclipse this mark by four to five games.

Houston Rockets Over 49.5—- Houston has that run and gun system that we’ve seen employed over the last ten years by teams such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, etc. All of these teams blossomed at key times and had great regular seasons followed by dud post seasons. I have a feeling this should be the year that the Rockets sizzle on the floor in the regular season. Even though they did not add Chris Bosh they have a system in place that thrives with stars James Harden and Dwight Howard. This seems like a low number to me.

Danny Green is replicating his 2013 hot start in the Finals. Will he cool off like a year ago?

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One of the biggest mistakes sports bettors make is assuming. This team can’t lose again, or it’s going to be a blowout after what happened to them last game. Settings do change, as game four is yet another high stakes NBA Finals game.

But a 5.5 point spread is too many in my estimation. What we just saw a bit over 24 hours ago, is the same product producing an extra point to point and a half on the spread. Is there reason for this? The only reason is that Vegas and bettors are assuming the Heat are going to respond in blowout fashion. They have their backs against the wall in a must-win situation. A loss means they had to San Antonio in an elimination game five matchup.

What bettors should be thinking is that this is a golden opportunity to play the points. I gave out a premium play on the over in game three, and for game four I’m giving out a free play on the Spurs.

It’s a simple tactic in handicapping. What you see is what you get. Don’t assume, go off of results.

San Antonio has the arsenal to adjust on the fly. Early in the series the Heat made it a focus to shut down Tony Parker. It worked, so San Antonio shifted to their big man Tim Duncan. San Antonio shifted again to perimeter offense with the likes of Manu Ginobli, Patty Mills, and Danny Green. That still hasn’t been relegated. Heading into game four we still don’t know if the Heat have a new answer for Kawhi Leonard.

Any type of adjustment the Heat make the Spurs can counter it with more offense.

The bottom line is any Heat wins are going to be close in this series. They truly have to win a game down to the wire to out duel this Spurs team. It’s how they won a championship a year ago against the Spurs.

San Antonio is too experienced and well rounded of a team to be offered 5.5 points.

Take the points and you’ll be breathing easily going into halftime, unlike bettors with money on Miami.

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Weeks ago I wrote an article on capitalizing on the Spurs at future odds of 3-1 and 5-1. Those odds were in the Dallas series. There was only a day that the odds were at 5-1, when they were down 2-1 in the series to the Mavericks.

It’s easy to jump on series odds when it’s down to the final two teams. Action is likely sky rocketing on both the Heat at +105 and Spurs at -125. The fact of the matter is that neither price has great line value right now.

Oddmakers are at your mercy right now. They have the series priced exactly how it should be. The home team Spurs are the odds on slight favorite, but they’re not writing off the possibility of a three peat by the Heat.

The best approach if you did not pick the Heat or Spurs weeks ago, is to wait out two to three games.

This series is projected to go seven games by just about every media outlet. The Spurs want to end a dynasty that’s been around since the late 90’s, and the Heat want to get a coveted three peat.

This will not be a quick series.

As in any type of financial market, the proper time to make money is when the odds become a better buy. If any of these teams gets down one game by losing home court advantage, injuries, or a 2-0 deficit, value is going to shift.

This would be the opportunity to pounce on a future buy.

Hold your reservations on placing your money on the counter. Yes there has been a big gap of NBA rest days from conference championships to the start of the Finals. But action will begin Thursday.

If you’re really looking at getting a solid wager on a future bet in the series, put a play on the series MVP.

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When offseason’s are quiet when they are not expected to be, fans begin to talk. The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball program has been elite for the last five to six years. Each season being a top 25 team and for the most part top ten.

The unexpected departures of Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant have most Cuse fans preparing for a letdown in 2014. They only have two recruits incoming. Chris McCullough who just received clearance and Kaleb Joseph the only point guard on Syracuse’s roster.

Many would have expected Syracuse to go after a late signee or to secure a graduate transfer. Teams that reach this late tend to create more problems for the upcoming season.

This may have been a light year for Syracuse recruiting but they still have a nucleus to work with. Trevor Cooney showed signs of promise throughout the Syracuse season, even though he took a brunt of criticism from fans. The fact of the matter is, he was a first year starter as a sophomore after receiving hardly any playing time the season before. Struggles are bound to happen for any sophomore. Cooney will surely be working to develop more off the dribble moves to keep defenders guessing.

Michael Gbinije will also be a junior. The versatile wing will be leaned on this season. As the season wore on last year he started to become a reliable component for Syracuse. Boeheim even started to give him more minutes especially when Cooney wasn’t producing.

For both Cooney and Gbinije they have the maturity to excel this season. Both are listed as juniors but each sat out a season. Gbinije through his transfer from Duke and Cooney as a redshift freshman behind a plethora of Orange guards, including Triche, Dion Waiters, and Michael Carter-Williams.

The Orange also have senior big man Rakeem Christmas who is a very steady force inside. He knows his role and is a force defensively. Around the country there are not too many strong big men so expect Christmas to be a shining inside presence this year.

The rest of the Syracuse lineup remains a question mark. Will DeJuan Coleman return healthy and finally become a player the Orange foresaw when they signed him out of high school? He could be a big boost to the interior for the Orange.

Besides those four players the rest of the Orange will be secured by sophomores and freshman. Almost none of last year’s freshman saw the court. Tyler Roberson was the exception and his minutes were scarce.

Roberson showed enough athleticism to garner instant minutes but lacked the on court demeanor needed to play heavy minutes. That will change this year. Roberson could be the next in line of Syracuse sophomores to explode from their freshman to senior seasons.

Ron Patterson and BJ Johnson are the huge question marks. They’ll get their share of minutes, likely of the bench. Syracuse’s bench performance over the last five to six years has been one of the main reasons they have remained a top 25 team. Last year’s bench production was the exception, as Boeheim kept a limited lineup.

But in years past he has relied on a key six man to spark the offense. Jerami Grant was the person last year before DaJuan Coleman got hurt, Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine, Andy Rautins, etc. have all filled that role.

I’m not as low on this 2014 season as publications are stating. Points offensively have never been a consistent reliability with Syracuse. That won’t change this season. They’ll have their typical slides of inadequate shooting slumps. But look across the country. This offseason for many college programs has been a train wreck. Players are jumping ship more than ever. This is coming off a season that college basketball parity was the highest it’s been in quite some time.

An athletic wing is still there with Tyler Roberson over Jerami Grant. Roberson may even be a better shooter than Grant. McCullough is surely an upgrade over Baye Keita. CJ Fair was great as a Syracuse Orangemen but his strengths were maximized deep into ACC play. Teams knew his go to dribble and strong left hand. Sets that Syracuse ran were timed out perfectly by teams such as NC State, Boston College, and others.

It became painful to watch how teams knew Syracuse’s limitations offensively.

Coming into 2014 no team will have a clue how to guard Syracuse. The only thing they know is Trevor Cooney is a three point shooter. Cooney seems like a prototypical Syracuse four year guard. Fans love to hate him but he’ll only get better year to year. You would have graded him most improved sophomore in the country if you remembered his horrendous limited minutes as a redshirt freshman compared to last year.

Publications are looking at what Syracuse has lost and not the program. Talent has left and been replaced each of the last six seasons. This year will be no different and has the makings of the 2010 team.

Syracuse was written off as a non Top 25 team after losing Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn, and Eric Devendorf. No one expected Wes Johnson, Scoop Jardine, and 5th year senior Andy Rautins to flourish.

Not knowing who this Syracuse team will rely upon offensively is going to boost this 2014 team. Losses will happen but look for Syracuse to be a dangerous tournament team.

With the bevy of 2015 recruits locked in, the future is only looking brighter for Syracuse. Imagine seniors Gbinije and Cooney paired with current talent and the 2015 recruiting class? Keep the Orange gear out fans, it’s not time to hide yet.

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Game One Western Conference Finals from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.

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So Kobe is a game time decision at 9am PT. The ten point spread for the Pacers is on high alert just and will sink rapidly. I’ll have more insight via twitter as more news comes out.

In college today there are plenty of games to key in on. I’ll start off in the PAC-12 which I believe has had the most exciting games thus far in conference tournament play. UCLA against Arizona is a curious line and intriguing matchup. Arizona is favored by four but I believe that’ll move down a half point. Grab UCLA as this game should come down to the wire. Arizona just does not pull away from teams. Shabazz Muhammed is back in his home town and will put on a show.

Another matchup I like is UMASS in the underdog role vs Temple. Temple may be playing their best basketball now but that was during a stretch that they had to win. Now that they’ve solidified a tournament berth, will the inconsistent Owls rear their heads once again? UMASS matches up well and has a chance for the outright upset.

Possible moneyline parlay

UMASS, UCLA, Lakers, and Maryland. Huge return.