Fansided

NBA weekly betting trends: Teams ‘winning’ by losing

By Jeff Glauser

Feb 14, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Lou Williams (23) moves to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver (43) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Lou Williams (23) moves to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver (43) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s no secret that teams tank in the NBA. It’s just become more out of control than ever.

Never a league of parity — between 1980-2014, only nine teams won the title and eight of those did it multiple times — the epidemic of squads attempting to bottom out and score a high draft pick, along with the contenders poaching buy-out players for their playoff runs, has created a huge disparity between the haves and have-nots.

Which brings us to present day, and a handful of franchises that hit the reset button at the trade deadline to position themselves for what’s considered one of the deepest drafts in recent memory.

Here is a sampling of teams with a trend of being bet against, according to SportsBook Review’s NBA Online Forum:

The Serge Ibaka Experiment didn’t even last a full season for the Orlando Magic. And with a bunch of redundancies built into the roster, a focus is now on next year, so expect an already-substandard 24-34-2 record Against The Spread to get worse.

Next: Nylon calculus week in review: Recapping NBA trade deadline

Speaking of Magic, the great Earvin Johnson has recently taken over the team which made him an icon, and the Los Angeles Lakers are going all-in for a top three draft pick. Trading Lou Williams —who was having a career year in his 12th season — for a low first round pick was a clear indicator. However, it’s a risky endeavor because…

The Philadelphia 76ers control the Lakers’ pick if it falls to No. 4 or lower this year. Meanwhile, they jettisoned future free agents Nerlens Noel and Ersan Ilyasova for a whole bunch of not much, while shelving Ben Simmons and perhaps Joel Embiid for the season in hopes of landing two high picks.

The Magic have a rooting interest in what the Lakers do as well. If the Lakers don’t get a Top 3 pick this year, they have to send Orlando their 2019 first-round unprotected pick from the Dwight Howard trade. If L.A. is in the top 3, the Magic only get L.A’s 2017 and 2018 second-round choices.

However, one of those high picks for Philly could come by way of the Sacramento Kings, whose playoff drought will undoubtedly continue after dealing megastar DeMarcus Cousins. The Sixers have the right to flip their picks.

Ironically, the worst team in the league has no intent on tanking, as the Boston Celtics control the Brooklyn Nets’ top picks this year and next. Good luck getting out of that hole.

The draft lottery is May 16 and the draft on June 22.

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