NBA Insider – First Half Team Awards

One half of the NBA betting season is nearly complete. BetOnline Sportsbook hands out its honors for the best (and worst) teams by category through nearly 41 games…

Most Impressive Team: Los Angeles Lakers… Ok, so that’s a bit of a "Duh" statement. But even though the Lakers have already played 24 home games against 14 road games (one of which was at the Staples Center), they still easily have the best record in the Western Conference. There isn’t anything that this team can’t do. They score (103.1 points per game, #8 in NBA), they rebound (45.2 boards per game, #1 in NBA), and they play fantastic defense (opposing teams are only shooting 43.6%, #2 in NBA). They’ll play the inside game with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. And, oh yeah… there’s some guy named Kobe that’s pretty impressive too. Bryant is averaging 29.2 points per game to lead the league.

Team Most Likely to Fire its Head Coach: Chicago Bulls… What a train wreck the Bulls are! Sure, Chicago is playing better basketball and is currently in the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference. But is there any reason for a team with this much young talent to only be 16-20 at this point in the season? The Windy City gang ranks 27th in the NBA in scoring, and that’s after putting up 120 points against Detroit and 110 against Minnesota this week. Even though the Bulls have covered eight of their L/9 NBA betting affairs, HC Vinny Del Negro still has a lot of explaining to do about why this team is going to have to scratch and claw its way to the playoffs in the second half of the season.

Get in on the action now bet on NBA > > SIGN UP HERE

Most Improved Team: Oklahoma City Thunder… These guys are really, really young and they’re really, really good. If you’re a Thunder fan you should be excited as they’re going to get a heck of a lot better as they continue to gel as a team. F Kevin Durant may take all of the accolades on this team for averaging 28.8 points per game, but his counterparts are what have the Thunder at 21-16 and in the playoffs right now in the powerful Western Conference. Youngsters G Russell Westbrook, F Jeff Green, and G James Harden are all doing the job for OKC, and thought it’s still hard to fathom that this team really could make the playoffs after having a projected season win total in the mid-30s by the oddsmakers, don’t be surprised to see it only get better and better.

Team Most Likely to Play Spoiler in the Second Half: Sacramento Kings… Sure, the Kings have the third worst record in the Western Conference right now, but they’re led by two fantastic rookies, G Tyreke Evans, and F Omri Casspi. Considering that last year’s leading scorer, G Kevin Martin, and F Francisco Garcia have both missed the mass majority of the season, a 15-22 record in the West isn’t so bad. When those guys get healthy (which is starting to get measured in weeks, not months), look out! Sacramento has the talent to face off with anyone in the NBA.