Ginobili injury hurting San Antonio Spurs by The Gaming Today’s, Ted Sevransky

We’ve got more than two full weeks of NBA action in the books, and two teams – the LA Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder – have grueling 10 games in-15-day stretches to open the season under their belts already.

Let’s take a look around the league, concentrating on key notes and quotes, the type of information that has the potential to make us some money in the weeks to come.

ATLANTA

Scheduling variations and tough situations are going to be moneymakers for savvy NBA bettors this year. We saw money pour in against the Hawks this past Saturday as they closed out a brutal nine games in 12 days stretch against Chicago. It was also the Hawks fifth game in six nights, and they had played a whopping total of four overtime periods in their previous two games including a discouraging triple OT loss to Miami.

Four of the five Hawks starters had logged at least 82 minutes of floor time over the previous two nights. It was their fourth game out of five against either the Heat or Bulls. No surprise that the betting markets looked to fade the Hawks in that awful scheduling spot.

And yet the Hawks didn’t lay down – they came out and played arguably their best game since their 36-point blowout win over New Jersey on opening night. The Hawks led by 18 at halftime. They shot just shy of 57% against what may be the league’s best defense, had 32 assists on 47 made field goals and 16 steals leading to 27 fast break points. Bettors who wagered against the Hawks suffered through a 20+ point loss against the spread. Atlanta’s team chemistry looks pretty strong these days, a rarity for any squad with Tracy McGrady on the roster.

WASHINGTON

The Wizards have been one of the NBA’s weakest franchises for several decades, and the transition to new owner Ted Leonsis – an owner who helped turn the NHL’s Capitals from bottom feeders into contenders – was expected to have some sort of a positive impact. It has not as 29 of the 30 NBA teams have at least two wins in the first two weeks of play.

Washington is the lone exception, still searching for their first victory of the year. The Wizards walked off the court last Sunday to a cascade of boos from the sparse home crowd as they dropped to 0-8 after a 21 point loss to last place Minnesota. The quotes here tell a story of a team cracking at the seams!

Head coach Flip Saunders, following the defeat: “There’s really not much to say. Disappointment. Embarrassment. I don’t know if words can explain. My job over the next two days is to try to find five guys who can play the right way and can play with some heart… It was bad to watch. It was bad to coach. It was bad to play.”

Forward Andray Blatche: “It’s frustrating. It’s sickening. Embarrassing. They booed us; we deserved it. I don’t know what to say… We tend to panic when we get down by seven to nine points, and everybody wants to be the guy to get those nine points back.”

Last year’s No. 1 overall draft choice John Wall chipped in “It’s a pride game now, to start this bad. It’s nothing but pride to see if you’ve got the heart to play.”

Washington isn’t getting much of a contribution from their rookies either. Chris Singleton (Florida State) got his first NBA start in the loss to the T-wolves with Rashard Lewis sitting with a sore right knee, but shot just 1-8 from the field and scored only three points with one assist in nearly 40 minutes of floor time.

Jan Vesely (Czechoslovakia), their other first rounder, has a grand total of nine minutes of playing time through eight games, still suffering from a lingering hip injury.

PHOENIX

The Suns came out of the gate struggling, losing at home to New Orleans on opening night, then getting blown off the floor in a 20-point home loss to Philly. Since those initial struggles, the Suns have been moneymakers for their supporters: 4-2 SU, 5-1 ATS in their last six ballgames. Their run of success culminated in their second straight blowout win on Sunday, taking Milwaukee to the woodshed.

On Friday Night, the Suns showed off their improved defense and rebounding to a national TV audience, holding red hot Portland to 32% shooting while winning the rebounding battle by nine boards. On Sunday, the Suns shot 56% from the floor and had 30 assists on 43 made baskets, including a season high 17 dimes from ageless point guard Steve Nash.

SAN ANTONIO

The betting markets aren’t showing full awareness of how Greg Popovich is going to manage minutes for his veteran squad without Manu Ginobili on the floor for the next month. Popovich isn’t interested in home court advantage throughout the playoffs – he knows his team can win tough games in hostile environments. Instead, his primary focus is keeping his team fresh and healthy for an extended postseason run. And that means he’ll be paying close attention to his veterans in these numerous tough scheduling spots.

On Sunday, the Spurs lost by double digits at Oklahoma City; a game that got ugly for the visitor early in the third quarter. Popovich chose to sit point guard Tony Parker for most of the second half. Tim Duncan didn’t get a single minute of floor time in the fourth quarter, the second time that’s happened already this year – both at the end of blowout losses on the second night of back-to-backs.

DeJuan Blair was on the sidelines for the entire second half as well. Halftime bettors should definitely note that Popovich looks as if he’s going to throw in the towel early on a consistent basis when his team is struggling and in a tough scheduling spot, giving ample floor time to his role players coming off the bench.

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