Kings, Mavericks Among NBA Surprises Against the Spread
The Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks may not make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference this spring. But the Kings and Mavericks have both made their backers a lot of money heading into this weekend's All-Star break with two of the best NBA against-the-spread records in the league so far this season.
The Kings have a better shot to sneak into the postseason at 30-27 straight up, sitting just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final spot in the West. However, Sacramento also owns an outstanding 34-22-1 mark against the spread, including 21-8-1 at home. The Mavericks are four games behind them at 26-31 SU, although they have an equally good 34-22-1 ATS record behind European sensation Luka Doncic, who is a virtual lock to win Rookie of the Year honors this year.
In the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks are not only a league-best 43-14 SU, but they also have gone 34-20-3 ATS. The Bucks are led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and Coach of the Year favorite Mike Budenholzer, and they are one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors (43-16 SU but 25-33-1 ATS) going into the break.
The Raptors have been one of the East's biggest disappointments in terms of covering the spread at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com despite their impressive record overall. Only the tanking New York Knicks have been worse at beating the number in the conference with a 23-31-3 ATS mark heading into Thursday night's action.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been nearly as bad as the Knicks at 25-32-1 ATS on the season, with the Phoenix Suns the lone team worse overall at 25-34.
The two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors have been the equivalent of Toronto in the West, going 24-32-1 on the NBA odds even though they sit atop the conference at 41-16 SU. The Houston Rockets—who lost to the Warriors in last year's Western Conference Finals—get honorable mention here as another disappointing team with a 26-30-1 ATS record at sports betting sites along with the Los Angeles Lakers at 25-30-1.
Not even a second consecutive MVP run by James Harden and the addition of LeBron James have helped the Rockets and Lakers cover more than half their games.
