Online NBA Basketball Betting – Hoosiers
January 25th, 2012 Posted in NBA bettingThe Indiana Pacers may not have a Jimmy Chitwood, the sharpshooter in the Hoosiers movie, on the team this year but it has not stopped them from getting out to an 11 and 4 record, and the same amount of wins that the glamorous Miami Heat boast.
Basketball from this sports betting part of the country has always been basic, hard-nosed, fundamental, and mainly successful, but this edition of the Pacers team has the elements that may take them very deep into the playoffs this season as the proved Sunday beating the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A.
They produced the win by winning the battle of the boards and by shooting nearly 56% from the three-point line.
First the numbers.
Indiana only failed to cover 6 of their first 15 online best sportsbook games and they lost one of those covers in overtime. And all but one of the non-covers was on the road.
You don’t want to bring a knife to a gunfight and you don’t want to play Indiana if you are not committed to going to the glass. The Pacers are second best in the league to kick off the season in rebounding, trailing only division rival the Chicago Bulls.
They are also one of only 4 teams to start the 2011/2012 season holding teams to under 90 points a game but they will have to step it up bit time to have a good week against the spread starting Tuesday, but more on that later.
Personnel speaking, the Pacers have quality throughout. Roy Hibbert is a corner stone center. Danny Granger is the assassin. Recently acquired David West is a veteran that brings it every night and Darren Collison is a budding superstar that is basically a pass first point guard.
Like most winning organizations, the vibe and the hunger comes down from the top. Check out what Indiana Coach Frank Vogel said recently, Vogel: “We want teams to feel like they were in a heavyweight fight after they played against us. We want to play physical inside and be the stronger team. Part of our smash mouth attack involves playing with size and strength. We want our guards attacking the basket. We want our bigs playing through the post. We try to have one of our bigs along the baseline or in front of the basket at all times and the other one is rolling.”
Focus is clearly identified here and that is more than half the battle.
Consider the early struggles of the Los Angeles Lakers this season and it becomes crystallized.
With an entirely new offense and defense, the Lakers have no clue about their identity.
When you consider the Pacers were on the road for 7 of their first 11 games, their record becomes even more important for betting websites.
This week, they get room service again with three of their next 4 games on the pavement. They host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, must play in Chicago the next night, have a day off before heading to Boston, then go to Orlando to end the road run. They could be vulnerable a bit this week.
On the positive side, you have to be able to compete if you are going to play for this club. Vogel: “ Since I’ve taken over, all I’ve talked about is togetherness. I never worked for Doc Rivers, but one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in watching the playoffs is that fact. When KG first got there, the culture changed, but he used the word togetherness on an almost daily basis.”
The reason basketball is such a beautiful compelling game is that when it flows; it’s like a classic jazz riff. Things flow, everybody touches the rock and the open player is rewarded.
That has been the mantra of Indiana.
Granted, Indiana will never be confused with the Big Apple, Los Angeles or South Beach, but that’s okay with their center.
Hibbert: “That’s fine, we’re the best kept secret. They can play Boston and Chicago on ESPN, but we’re the best-kept secret. That’s fine with us.”
Can you keep a secret?
