This is the time of year when paying attention to injury reports and understanding depth charts can really benefit an NBA handicapper.
Tanking is a hot topic, and that has led to several starters missing games for about one-third of the league. If you understand various nuances, then one can outsmart the betting market.
The Jazz own the league’s fifth-worst record. They have three starters out for the season and other key players have been missing games lately, which has created opportunity for others.
Utah hosts the Raptors on Monday. The point spread will settle around double digits in favor of Toronto across the market.
Due to the recent injuries, Utah’s Cody Williams and Ace Bailey have started and thrived in the offense. The increased usage has significantly disrupted the prop market because oddsmakers don’t have enough data to project their production accurately.
Plus, point guard has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and complicated things further. His status is uncertain for the Jazz.
Betting on the NBA?
Williams scored 23 points in the first game without Collier and regressed to 15 in the next game. However, that’s only because he shot 5-for-15 from the field, including missing all four of his 3-point attempts. His profile still reflects someone around 19 points.
His prop in the past two games has been 13.5 and 15.5 points. I think that is too low, given all the injuries and opportunities. The Raptors rank in the top 10 in defensive efficiency, but the Jazz offense is much better in Utah at altitude.
I have a 106-88-2 record in this Post sports section, and my next play is Williams over 15.5 points.
The Pick: Cody Williams to score 15+ points (+136, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
