There is a direct correlation in success against the NBA betting odds between teams that play well on the road and their overall success as contenders for the playoffs and beyond.
While the general public flocks to home teams that are often overpriced, the best values can often be found with good teams who play well on the road. A great example of this would be the team with the best record in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls were 20-6 overall but just 5-5 against the NBA betting odds at home compared to a strong 10-6 against the number as a road team. Another factor that goes into the heart of Chicago’s success is their defense, which was ranked 3rd overall in the NBA. Any team that wants to win on the road must have a strong defense and the Bulls certainly bring that to the table, along with a new young superstar in Derrick Rose, who was averaging a team best 23.6 points per game along with a team leading 8.2 assists per outing.
The surprise team of the NBA so far has been the Indiana Pacers and a large part of their success has to do with their performance on the road, where they had a mark of 9-6 against the NBA betting odds. The Pacers play in the Central Division with the Bulls and have stole Chicago’s blue print for success as they rank 5th in the NBA for overall defense.
A big part of the fall of the Los Angeles Lakers besides losing Phil Jackson as coach has been their poor play on the road. The Lakers had a mark of just 3-8 on away from their home court of the Staples Center compared to a home mark of 11-2. Los Angeles was just 14-10 overall and trailing their long regarded ugly red headed step brother, the LA Clippers in the Pacific Division race.
Another team that was surprising early in the season was the Denver Nuggets as they had a record of 15-9 that was built up in large part because of a road record of 8-5. With the compressed schedule already taking a hard toll on teams and keeping their lineups healthy, it means that the best way to win this year in the NBA will be with good team defense and the ability to have success on the road. This will likely prove to be the difference in an unusual 2012 season.