- The OKCS Thunder who have the 2nd worst record in the West and 4th worst in the league are the 5th best ATS team at 14-9 ATS.
- At 9-16 ATS, the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers are tied for the worst ATS record in the NBA this season..
- The Brooklyn Nets, who are the betting favorites to win the 2022 NBA title, have the 5th worst ATS record at 10-14 ATS.
The Golden State Warriors are the best ATS team in the NBA at 17-6-1 ATS this season. But that isn’t a surprise because, at 20-4, they are the co-holders of the best record in the NBA.
Best teams against the spread this season:
Warriors 17-6-1 ATS
Cavs 18-7 ATS
Bulls 17-8 ATS
Grizzlies 15-9 ATS
Thunder 14-9 ATSWorst teams:
Nets 10-14 ATS
Nuggets 9-14 ATS
Mavericks 9-14 ATS
Lakers 9-16 ATS
Trail Blazers 9-16 ATS— John Ewing ? (@johnewing) December 8, 2021
Neither are the Chicago Bulls a surprise at no.3 in the NBA’s ATS rankings because Chicago has the 5th best record in the NBA and the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. It isn’t a surprise too why the 13-12 SU Cleveland Cavaliers and the 14-10 SU Memphis Grizzlies SU are no. 2 at 18-7 ATS and no. 4 at 15-9 ATS in the latest ATS rankings, respectively, because both teams have winning records and are holding playoff spots right now.
But the Oklahoma City Thunder? The Thunder are on a rebuild and have accumulated more draft picks since 2019 (36) than wins last season (22) and this year, to date, so far.
At 7-16 SU, the Thunder have the second-worst record in the Western Conference, with only the 7-19 SU New Orleans Pelicans having a worse record than them. They also have the fourth-worst record in the NBA, behind the 4-19 SU Detroit Pistons, 5-20 SU Orlando Magic, and Pelicans. But despite being one of the worst teams in the league in straight-up wins, the Thunder are the 5th best spread betting team in the NBA at 14-9 ATS.
Thunder Bounce Back From Historic Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points and 13 assists and Oklahoma City bounced back from the most lopsided loss in NBA history and ended an eight-game losing streak by rallying past the host Detroit Pistons 114-103. https://t.co/Ck4b8L6KqJ
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) December 7, 2021
The Thunder bounced back from their historic loss to the Grizzlies with a 114-103 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Shai Gilgeous Alexander returned from a one-game absence to score 30 points and issue 13 assists. With the win and the cover as +4.5 underdogs, OKC improved to 31-24 ATS since the start of last season with SGA healthy, compared to 15-25 ATS with him out.
OKC also snapped a season-long 8-game losing streak with the win over Detroit. But despite losing 8 in a row prior to Monday, the Thunder went 5-3 ATS during that stretch, covering the spread five times as a betting underdog. The only time they didn’t cover the spread during this period was during their back-to-back games against the now 7-16 SU Rockets and during their 73-point loss to the Grizzlies.
Perhaps worse than their 7-16 SU record is the fact that OKC suffered the worst loss in NBA history against the Memphis Grizzlies two games ago. That game also gave Memphis the NBA record for largest cover in a win at +62 points. But take that away, and put their 9-games below .500 record, OKC is having a good season, given the circumstances.
Nets Rally in the 4th to Beat Mavericks
Kevin Durant and James Harden rally Nets in fourth to beat Mavericks https://t.co/KWZWtHUS0I
— The Athletic New York (@TheAthleticNYC) December 8, 2021
The Brooklyn Nets rallied from a 17 point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-99. But while that was an impressive comeback win for the Nets, it was barely a cover for them in the betting department. Brooklyn was a -1.5 points favorite over the Mavericks but they did not cover until Kevin Durant’s 14-footer with 1:01 left gave them the 102-99 lead.
For the season, however, the Nets are just 10-14 ATS on the season despite owning the best record in the Eastern Conference at 17-7 SU. Prior to Monday’s cover against the Mavericks, the Nets went 1-7-1 ATS in their previous nine games. Brooklyn has covered the betting spread in consecutive games only once this season and they have never covered in three consecutive games.
But the Nets need not worry as the 13-12 SU Los Angeles Lakers are the worst ATS team this season at just 9-16 ATS ( 36% ). Los Angles has the same ATS record as the 9-14 SU Portland Trail Blazers while the 11-12 SU Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are tied for the second-worst ATS record at 9-14 ATS apiece. The Nets? They are the 5th worst ATS team but that’s saying something about the team that is currently the odds on favorite to win the 2022 NBA title.
