The start of the NBA regular season is just a week away (Tuesday, Nov 1) and season win totals have been out for a while. Depending on the out, season win totals range from a high of 57 1/2 on the defending World Champion San Antonio Spurs to a low of 19 1/2 on the second-year Charlotte Bobcats.
Personally, I don't do a whole lot with any type of season future as I prefer to not have any significant portion of my bankroll tied up for an extended length of time. For the recreational player however, future bets are fun, potentially profitable, and offer a season's worth of action on a single wager.
Most of my own preseason NBA work is done and at this point it's just a question of watching as many remaining exhibition games as I can. Below are my Top Five season win recommendations for the 2005-6 NBA season. Futures listed in order of strength and for the sake of this article, win totals and lines were taken fron Pinnacle and available at 1200 PST, Tuesday, October 25.
Los Angeles Clippers OVER 38 (-117): The Clippers did some nice things over the off-season. If they can find a way to win on the road and avoid injuries, they should JOG into the playoffs! Sure they overpaid for Cutino but with the edition of Sam Cassell, the Clips now have a the formidable backcourt they've lacked in the past. Elton Brand and Cory Maggette are givens. Look for a possible breakout year from ex-Terp Chris Wilcox.
New York Knicks UNDER 40.5 (+113): The roster is different but expect the results to be about the same. Getting Larry Brown was somewhat of a coup (he was gone from Detroit regardless) but don't see how even the Master will get this lineup of essentially one-on-one specialists to "D"-up and work as a cohesive unit on offense. Knicks didn't give up a whole lot to get Eddy Curry but the move was a crap-shoot at best. Knicks miss the playoffs again and Isiah gets sent packing.
Toronto Raptors UNDER 28.5 (-109): Forget about LeBron leaving Cleveland, it will be the ultra-talented Chris Bosh who's first out of Toronto.This is a terrible team that is the result of a terrible front-office. The Raptors did nothing to improve their underachieving malcontent bunch from last year and even lost the valuable Donyell Marshall. The Raptor's top draft choice Charlie Villaneuva came out a full TWO years two early and will be a bust of the same proportions as Kwame Brown. The only bright note is Okie State's Joey Graham who will offer quality minutes right away.
Philadelphia 76ers OVER 41.5 (-134): The 76ers are not very deep but have an excellent first seven and exceptional young talent. Philly took care of business in the off-season by keeping Korver and Dalembert and extending Andre Iguodala. Chris Webber will have a clearly defined role and the addition of Mo Cheeks as coach should not be overlooked. Allen Iverson should thrive in this system and I expect (what has been) a soft home court to become immediately tougher under legacy Cheeks.
Denver Nuggets OVER 49.5 (-113): Have to figure the Nuggets will improve in their first full year under George Karl. The ex-Buck/Sonic head took a team headed for oblivion and guided them to a 32-8 mark in his first 40 games at the controls. Nuggets are chemistry rich and have guys off the bench like Earl Boykins and now Eduardo Nejara that buy into their roles. Carmelo should have tremdous year after somewhat of a sophmore slump shooting the ball. Everything's great when you're winning and that should be the case here.
Take a Look:
Orlando Magic UNDER 33.5 (-101)
Washington Wizards UNDER 39.5 (+113)
Atlanta Hawks OVER 20 (-130)
Indiana Pacers OVER 52.5 (-121)
Milwaukee Bucks UNDER 35 (+120)
Dennis Macklin is a Documented Member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read more of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Dennis_Macklin.htm