Let Rose rest for as long as he wants
Basketball Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The compressed NBA schedule is much like those KFC Famous Bowls: Mix everything together in a condensed space and see how it tastes.
But what if you're a buttermilk biscuit fan? Will it whet your appetite when it's layered with pieces of crispy chicken, mashed potatoes or sweet corn?
One's favorite bite in the concoction is comparable to an NBA superstar and his significance to his team. Every sports fan with a pulse understands Derrick Rose is the soup du jour of the Chicago Bulls and the reigning MVP is a prime example of how the new 66-game schedule is beginning to take its toll on some of the league's finest players (Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups and Al Horford included).
Rose has one of the quickest first steps off the dribble, but right now the centerpiece to the hoopsters in the Second City is at a crawl because back spasms have kept one of the NBA's most dynamic athletes taking up a chair in street clothes the last three games. An MRI on the former No. 1 overall pick's back revealed no structural damage and surprisingly the same can be said for Chicago's chemistry without its go-to guy on the floor.
Quite frankly, the Bulls' success without Rose this season may be just an aberration. The Bulls are 2-1 in the past three games without him and 6-2 overall with Rose on the sidelines either because of a nagging left toe sprain or his back issue. Rose, however, said there's no pain in the toe as of late, but that could change when he steps onto the hardwood again. Known for his toughness and high threshold for pain, Rose said he will take his time before opting to return.
"Right now, I shouldn't have any problems in the long run," Rose said. "This back thing should be behind me in a couple of days. I should be back out there in a couple of days. I'll take my time and be smart and make sure I'm stretching."
Rose hasn't hired a specialist to help him privately at his home and is very thankful for the Bulls' concerned training staff. He's been stretching more than usual to alleviate tightness and did see a chiropractor to get some tips on the healing process and find a solution to the problem. The 6-foot-3, 190- pound Memphis product was told by the team's management to take his time in regards to his health and head coach Tom Thibodeau noted that it's not just Rose's decision to resume playing.
"There are a lot of people weighing in on it. We have a great medical staff, a great training staff. Their input is critical," Thibodeau said. "His input is critical. We're certainly not going to do anything to jeopardize him being hurt."
Thibodeau's assessment couldn't be more accurate, but Chicago is actually playing well right now and owns the best record in the Eastern Conference at 24-7, including a spicy 10-1 record at the United Center.
It could be a few days or possibly weeks (ouch!) before Rose resumes play, and missing the All-Star Game on Feb. 26 in Orlando could be an actuality depending on how the healing process continues.
As for now, the Bulls are rolling along with C.J. Watson running the point. Watson may bring a watery taste to center stage and is averaging 13 points in his last three starts. His season average is 10.4 points per game.
It would be nice for Bulls guard Richard Hamilton to get healthy from a right thigh injury which has sidelined him for nine straight games. He recently dealt with a death in his family and is back with the team.
In another move to suppress the loss of Rose, Chicago signed journeyman Mike James to a 10-day contract. While there's arguably no man who could replace Rose on the floor in Chicago besides maybe Magic Johnson or John Stockton -- two retired superstar guards -- James is just another body at Thibodeau's disposal. James shared his sentiments on what Rose means to this team.
"Great guy, humble, one of the best basketball players in the game," James said of Rose. "Hopefully, he can get his body back to 100 percent. Well, you'll never be 100 percent, but at least 99.9. He's definitely needed by this team and he brings a whole new dimension to the game when he's on the court."
For the Bulls' sake, they hope Rose can take the floor soon with a clean bill of health. For now, however, Chicago's backcourt will remain bland at best.
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How to bet pro football
There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.
These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.
Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.
Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.
Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.
Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.
The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?
To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.
Home vs. Away Teams
Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.
Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.
Price ranges
Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.
The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.
Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.
Playoff teams
It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.
Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.
This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.
Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.
Scoring defense and scoring offense
Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.
Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.
There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.
The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.
Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.
Scoring margin
An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.
In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.
Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.
In sum
Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.
The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.
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