PPH Basketball Betting -- Who Will Move Boldly Before NBA Trade Deadline
The trade deadline in the NBA is almost upon us. Team executives have had a chance to see each other at the All-Star Game and they are now going about formulating some of their plans that might make the difference between a higher or lower seed, or a playoff spot and a ticket home after the regular season concludes. Basketball bettors at WagerHome.com know that whatever moves are made will impact the kind of value they may get from some of these teams for the rest of the season.
One of the rumors that has been making the rounds is that the Miami Heat is seeking a deal that might bring a genuine big man on board. As PPH bettors know, they have been using mostly a "small" lineup,. which has Chris Bosh at center and LeBron James, in effect, playing a power forward spot. But it truly looks as if it is going to come down to the Heat and the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference, and NBA bettors were able to see how the Pacers were able to out-muscle the Heat in the conference finals last season. Miami signed Greg Oden (from Indianapolis, ironically), who is coming back form a history of injuries, but he is getting back slowly and can't be counted on to log serious minutes. They passed on a chance for Andrew Bynum, for obvious reasons.
But how many "true" centers are out there? And which non-contending teams have them? Not many, unless somebody like Sacramento would part with DeMarcus Cousins. Pau Gasol has been available, but then we are back to a power forward-as-center scenario. Spencer Hawes of Philadelphia is very talented offensively, but can he bang with those Indiana guys? That is the main focus here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder expects to get Russell Westbrook back in a few days when they play the Heat at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. But WagerHome.com bettors know they have never really compensated for the loss of that nice scoring option off the bench, as Kevin Martin had been last season and James Harden for seasons prior to that. Who could be available? Well, WagerHome.com customers might keep an eye on Chicago's Mike Dunleavy, who is 6'10" and really shoot from the outside; he could give the Thunder bench a lot of versatility. Whatever they do, the Thunder would like to distribute some offense further than just Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Some of the teams that are way out of the playoff race are contemplating trading away some of its "present" to help build a "future." In other words, they are trying to buy a little time. Of course, the salary cap is a concern for teams in the market.
So PPH basketball bettors may find some of the following people on the move: Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young of the Philadelphia 76ers, who are looking for draft picks; Rajon Rondo, who has expressed a desire to stick around in Boston but could be taken off the books; Beno Udrih, a backup point guard with the Knicks who is said to be drawing interest from San Antonio; Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic, a team going nowhere, who could be attractive to a team seeking an experienced backup off the bench; Brandon Bass, a power forward from Boston who can be an excellent role player for a contender, and Omar Asik of Houston, a quality big man who wants out.
Luol Deng was just acquired by Cleveland, and reportedly is having problems fitting in. But will the Cavs trade the two-time All-Star, or deal others? An interesting question for WagerHome customers to contemplate.
Greg Monroe is another of these names that has been mentioned, but unless he cannot play alongside Andre Drummond, he would be very much a part of Detroit's future and it would be unexpected for a team that is fighting for a playoff spot and just fired its coach to be cleaning house this way, unless they got a lot in return.
The Charlotte Bobcats, the team fighting with Detroit, are said to be a team looking to make more of a push, as they are holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the East - just barely. They would be reasonable candidates to pick up any one of the aforementioned players, with the possible exception of Monroe, as they hope to make a move over the last 30 games.
If some of these Eastern Conference teams start dealing, things could get very intriguing indeed for PPH bettors at WagerHome.
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