The power rankings of the National Basketball Association can change quickly especially in a shortened season like this one but online sportsbook players should stay abreast of the teams that are climbing the ladder.
Everybody’s pick to the win the whole enchilada, the Miami Heat; will be at the top of the rankings probably all season. No shock here or is it shocking that the other elites of the league, Chicago, Portland, Oklahoma, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers will all gain support in the top tier.
But let’s look to some of the surprising teams so far this season.
Enter the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers. The ballers from the City of Brotherly Love have come fast out of the block winning 9 of their first 12 games and they have been burying teams.
After a slow start last season, Philly bought into Coach Doug Collins game plan and he fits ideally in this scenario. He is at best a teacher and with a good mix of young players and veterans, Collins can make his players accountable on a daily basis.
They have been defending as well as any team but they are becoming an offensive force and have been great scoring off turnovers. As far as best sportsbook value, Philly has been a team to bet. They covered 9 of their first 12 games with a push and one non-cover was only by a point.
Traditionalists all love the movie Hoosiers, but this year they really have something to root about as the Indiana Pacers are overachieving.
Center Roy Hibbert has been a force in the paint and David West has proven to be a great addition as a power forward. Darren Collison is making his way and is approaching elite status as a point guard while the Pacers bench of George Hill, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Foster look even better when energy guy Lou Amudson gets minutes.
Despite playing 3 games on the road from January 6 to the 13th, the Pacers covered 3 of the games and missed a cover by a mere half point.
On the other end of the spectrum you have the Boston Celtics. There may be some angry fans in Beantown long before the All Star Game this season, as the Celts are looking old, slow and ineffective.
Rajon Rondo continues to press the ball and beat everybody down the floor but the problem is his teammates have not been able to keep up with him.
Kevin Garnett does not intimidate anybody any longer, Paul Pierce seems to have lost at least a half step and Brandon Bass has been inconsistent. Ray Allen continues to shoot with accuracy but you also can live and die by the outside jumpers.
The Celts seldom have anybody on the bench that can give them double digits off the pine and that puts even more pressure on the aging starters.
The sport betting cover numbers are also pretty ugly. They only got to 100 once in their first 7 games of 2012, failed to cover in 4 straight home games when losing outright in games through January 13 and they have been getting killed off the boards.
Factor those tidbits into the mix along with fact they have to defense at the rim, and there may be a lot of green tears coming to Boston.