NBA betting odds: Thursday’s lines
By Jeff Glauser
There’s no place like home. Unless you’re an NBA team playing tonight, where all three games feature the hosts in a bet-against situation.
The Golden State Warriors begin life without Kevin Durant as they face the Chicago Bulls tonight. Durant, who was diagnosed with a left MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise in the Warriors’ loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, is expected to miss about four weeks with the injury.
Even with its star free agent acquisition, and although the team, at 50-10, has been favored in every game this season, betting on them is no sure thing, as Golden State currently stands at 30-29-1 Against The Spread.
Meanwhile, the 30-30 Bulls were on a run as of late, winning—including a 117-99 thrashing of the Cleveland Cavaliers—before coming back down to earth with a loss to the Denver Nuggets earlier in the week. They are 28-31-1 ATS, but 16-13 as an underdog.
Clearly, the Phoenix Suns are a different team when there is a point spread involved. Just 18-42 overall and sitting with the second-worst mark in the league, they are a respectable 29-29-2 ATS. I guess that’s what they would call “tanking with class.”
On the flip side, the Charlotte Hornets are who they are: 26-34 straight up, 26-34 ATS. A season that began with much promise (Remember when they started the season 6-1? Neither do I) is trending toward another disappointing finish for Michael Jordan’s squad.
And finally, the “Does Vegas Know Something” line of the night: The equally-disappointing Portland Trailblazers are 24-35, 25-34 ATS, including losers of eight of nine when factoring in the lines. They face the 35-25 Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of four straight, including eight of ten ATS. Yet, somehow, Portland opened as 1.5 favorites and the matchup has been wavering between a Pick ‘Em and -1 for OKC since. Go figure.
Next: NBA weekly betting trends: Tanking is in full swing
Here are the up-to-date consensus odds for each contest, courtesy of VegasInsider.com:
Thursday, March 2:
- 8:00 ET Golden State (-7.5) at Chicago
- 9:05 ET Charlotte (-3.5) at Phoenix
- 10:30 ET Oklahoma City (-1) at Portland
Be sure to check out the latest NBA odds, and remember to choose your bets wisely.