Best NBA Teams to Bet the UNDER on This Season (Denver, Miami, New York Lead the League)
By Peter Dewey
Trying to gain an edge when betting on the total in the second half of the NBA season?
You’ve come to the right place.
With the NBA still in the All-Star break, I’m recapping the best teams in each betting situation this season, with this article focusing on betting the UNDER.
There are just 11 teams in the NBA that have hit the UNDER at a higher rate than the OVER this season, and I broke down the best OVER teams in the league earlier on Monday.
If you’re looking for more of these recaps at the All-Star break, you can find the best teams against the spread (and the worst) as well on our NBA page.
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So, which teams have been money when betting the UNDER this season?
Data is collected as of Sunday, Feb. 18.
NBA Best Teams at Hitting the UNDER This Season
- Denver Nuggets: 35-20 (63.6%)
- Miami Heat: 34-21 (61.8%)
- New York Knicks: 32-23 (58.2%)
- Los Angeles Clippers: 30-22-1 (57.7%)
- Memphis Grizzlies: 31-24-1 (56.4%)
All five of these teams are in the top 13 in the NBA in defensive rating this season, with the Knicks, Heat and Grizzlies all posting top 10 marks.
The Knicks (No. 29), Heat (No. 27) and Nuggets (No. 28) are also three of the slowest-paced teams in the league this season. The Clippers clock in at 22nd in that statistic while Memphis is 18th. These are perfect profiles of UNDER teams.
NBA Best UNDER Teams at Home
- Memphis Grizzlies: 18-8-1 (69.2%)
- New York Knicks: 18-9 (66.7%)
- Toronto Raptors: 17-10 (63.0%)
- Denver Nuggets: 16-10 (61.5%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 14-9-1 (60.9%)
It’s about time we see Minnesota, who has the No. 1 defense in the NBA on this list. While there are several repeat offenders here, it is interesting to see Toronto – who is one of the best OVER teams on the road.
The Raptors are 17th in defensive rating at home, compared to 27th on the road.
NBA Best UNDER Teams on Road
- Miami Heat: 19-8 (70.4%)
- Denver Nuggets: 19-10 (65.5%)
- Sacramento Kings: 17-11-2 (60.7%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 15-10 (60.0%)
- Phoenix Suns: 15-11 (57.7%)
Miami is a perfect UNDER team on the road, ranking No. 25 in road offensive rating but No. 2 in defensive rating. Meanwhile, the Kings are a surprise team, as they are No. 1 in the NBA in OVERs at home.
Clearly, this team is much different on the road, where it posts a top-10 defensive rating. The Kings are 25th in DRTG at home.
NBA Best UNDER Teams as Favorites
- Detroit Pistons: 5-0 (100%)
- San Antonio Spurs: 4-1 (80.0%)
- New York Knicks: 21-11 (65.6%)
- Denver Nuggets: 30-17 (63.8%)
- Los Angeles Clippers: 27-16-1 (62.8%)
NBA Best UNDER Teams as Underdogs
- Milwaukee Bucks: 5-1 (83.3%)
- Denver Nuggets: 5-3 (62.5%)
- Sacramento Kings: 10-6-1 (62.5%)
- Miami Heat: 15-9 (62.5%)
- Phoenix Suns: 8-5 (61.5%)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.