The NBA only has five games on Thursday’s schedule, but it’s a really interesting tally. The big news revolves around James Harden being discharged from training Wednesday. This game will be our first glimpse of what the Rockets would be like without him. John Wall was also registered more than the day before, so they’ll be very thin on the back court and thirsty to score and play.
It is difficult to predict without a proper sample size of how minutes and usage will be distributed to the remaining players with two out-of-uniform team leaders. That still leaves four other games at stake for us to play with and here are some interesting facts to know before you do.
The Indiana Pacers have the second best record against spread this season.
The Pacers aren’t 100% healthy, but they’re still spinning. They have a 7-4 record against the spread, which is only behind Chicago with 8-3. Indiana has beaten the spread by an average of +1.5 points, the top 10 in the league. They face Portland, which only has a 4-6 record against the spread with an average loss of -1.2 points vs. closing line. The stakes are higher in Portland and lower on the Pacers so far this season.
The Charlotte Hornets have a record for the bottom five of this season’s total.
The Hornets are an attractive young team with a solid keeper game. The kind of team that people perceive to play the fast and fast type of game. This could not be further from the truth to start the year. The Hornets are in the bottom third of the league for speed. That means they tend to have less possession than other teams. They are also in the bottom 10 for points per 100 possession, a number that goes straight to the heart of offensive efficiency. Slow-tempo teams that do not average that many points per 100 holdings will rarely be in high scoring games. So far, the Hornets have beaten in just three of 11 games. The perceptions of this team and their production are far apart, which means the trend should continue until bookmakers and bookmakers start to adjust their totals downwards.
The Denver Nuggets have the best record this season.
The Nuggets have surpassed 81% of their games this season. The 9-2 figure is the best in the NBA. Will this continue? The Nuggets’ foul ranks third in points per 100 possession, so they are very efficient at the other end of the floor. The Nuggets defense has allowed the fifth most points per 100 holdings in the league with 114.3. The team that can score goals and allow points will always see hitting overs more than those under. This is especially true against opponents who play at top speed and push the Nuggets to exceed 100 holdings in a game. They take on the Golden State Warriors’ top three-player team on Thursday, which is the perfect recipe for another high-scoring match.