An
Insider's Look at the 2021 NBA Season
The 2021
NBA regular season is officially in the books. Let’s take a look around the
league: the best teams, best players, betting trends, and what we can expect in
the 2021 playoffs.
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Top Teams
in the East
Three teams
find themselves at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers,
Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks.
Philadelphia,
the top seed, finally took that next step with their superstar duo of Joel
Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid led the way with a double-double, eliciting some
MVP buzz along the way.
Brooklyn,
comprised of their three-star players, will be looking to make a run in their
first year together. The Nets have dealt with injuries all season, with their
core three, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, playing just eight
games together. However, one good look at the NBA
scores, it’s easy to see they’re a threat.
Milwaukee,
led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, remains squarely in the mix of the
East once again. The Bucks are a defensive-focused team that plays fast and
loose.
Top Teams
in the West
As always,
the Western Conference is loaded top and bottom. The top three seeds all have
incredible balance: Utah, Phoenix, and LA Clippers all rank inside the top ten
on both offense and defense.
The Denver
Nuggets have likely MVP Nikola Jokic doing it all from the center position.
However, the Dallas Mavericks are balanced on both ends, with Luka Doncic
leading the way.
The rest of
the Western NBA
playoff race is full of proven stars. Portland also
makes noise in the playoffs, courtesy of Damian Lillard. However, don’t sleep
on the defending champion Lakers, who’ve dealt with injuries to LeBron James
and Anthony Davis but are getting healthy at the right time.
Stephen
Curry has had a lights-out season from three this season, averaging nearly 32
points per game.
Our last
pick was a close one, where Coach had Detroit to beat Tampa Bay. The Wings won
Saturday, but lost Sunday. Look at our Lightning
at Red Wings free pick.
Betting
Trends
No team has
had a better season against the spread than the New York Knicks. The Knicks
have covered in nearly 65% of their games this season.
New York is
back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
The only
other team covering over 60% of the time has been the Suns, as mentioned
earlier. Phoenix added veteran guard Chris Paul this past summer, with Paul
helping bring this team to the next level. CP3 has done so well, and his name
has routinely come up in the MVP discussion.
The top 11
teams against the spread are all in the playoffs or the play-in tournament.
One of the
teams streaking up the ranks in both bets covered and wins has been the
Washington Wizards. Bradley Beal is currently second in the NBA in points per
game, with 31.4.
Washington
will be in the play-in tournament in a wide-open Eastern Conference tournament.
We snuck a
Cubs win on Saturday, the only one they’ll leave the Motor City with. Go check
out our Cubs
at Tigers pick for May 15.
Stat
Leaders
Curry won
the NBA’s scoring title this season, often putting Golden State on his back en
route to 31.8 points per game.
Wizards
guard Russell Westbrook led the NBA in assists with 11.8 per game. In addition,
Westbrook once again averaged a triple-double on the season, a remarkable feat
to replicate.
Atlanta
Hawks big man Clint Capela led the NBA in rebounds, with 14.3 per contest. Jazz
big Rudy Gobert paved the way with blocks, averaging a mammoth 2.7.
Miami’s
Jimmy Butler was the only player to average over two steals per game, finishing
with a 2.1 average.