NBA Weekly Changes

One of the important things to keep close tabs on during any sports season is the subtle shifts that take place all the time with coaches, players and teams. The most obvious example is a team like the Houston Rockets. Houston is 3-20 in games without Tracy McGrady this season. Naturally, they need him playing, as opponents can just double and triple team Yao Ming, which is what has been happening. The dysfunctional Knicks continue to be in a freefall, going 6-27 Su/11-22 ATS the last 33 games.

But there are also more subtle shifts, too. For instance, the Pistons started out like gangbusters on offense this season, but they've quietly got back to playing great defense, especially when they need it. This can also be noticed in betting numbers as the Pistons are on a 13-7 run under the total.

Keep a close eye on the Chicago Bulls. They are still alive for a possible playoff berth and coach Scott Skiles recently changed his lineup, with Ben Gordon and Tyson Chandler coming off the bench. He did that to save their legs for the second half and to provide a spark off the bench. It worked as they are 2-1 SU/ATS since that move. Changes don't always work wonders, but it's important for a good handicapper to know these changes, even small ones, that are taking place.

Two teams that did major overhauls over the last month are Orlando and Seattle. Orlando is going with the kids like 7-foot Darko Milicic, 20 years old, and guard Carlos Arroyo, age 26, and 20-year old Dwight Howard. Young teams often struggle on the road, of course, but you also can't compare the Magic's first half of the season numbers to the last month because the team is very different.

The same is true for Seattle, which is on a 7-4 SU/ATS run. Young guys like Chris Wilcox are working hard on the boards and they've been more competitive. Wilcox has meshed with Seattle's up-tempo style averaging 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. And speaking of young teams, how about Golden State? Ike Diogu, Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and Baron Davis are all 26 or under. They just had a 3-game road trip through Dallas, San Antonio and Sacramento – and won twice! In fact, they covered all three games, and even won 122-121 at Dallas as a +10 dog and 90-83 at the Kings as a +7 dog. Again, this is a good example of why it's not always easy to understand teams based on seasonal stats, as some teams are very different from November and December.

Here's one more team and player to keep an eye on: Kwame Brown. Yes, I know, you might be thinking, Why worry about that bust? But crazy Kwame has been stepping up and playing real good ball the last few weeks. It's likely that coach Phil Jackson has gotten through to him. On the other hand, it could be just a small run of strong play before he reverts back to the inconsistency that has always plagued him. But you won't know it unless you look for changes like this every day!

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