2018-19 Win Total Best Bets

4 minute read

For the first time in nine seasons, LeBron James will not represent an Eastern Conference team in the NBA Finals. James is headed to the Western Conference to try and reinvigorate the slumping Lakers’ franchise that has failed to make the playoffs in each of the past five seasons. His move also means that there will likely be a new team that will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals (sorry Cleveland).

We polled our experts for the upcoming season to ask which squads are the best season win total plays in 2018-19.

Starting with the biggest storyline in the sport, veteran handicapper Marc Lawrence makes his case to go UNDER the Lakers’ win total of 48 ½, “With the King headed to Hollywood the pressure is squarely on head coach Luke Walton this season. Failure to land Paul George in the offseason puts the weight of the franchise squarely on the broad shoulders of 33-year old James. The Cavs season win total was 53 ½ last year when James had Kevin Love to compliment him. Not the case this year.”

Meanwhile, what will James’ old squad in Cleveland do? NBA expert Alex Smart has confidence in the Cavaliers to finish OVER the total of 30 ½, “The great LeBron James is now gone from Cleveland. This may not be a bad thing in the long run for a team that was playing with no direction or specific implemented system. The coach was not actually the coach as Tyronn Lue just watched and waited for his superstar to dictate the pace of a game depending on how energized he felt on any given night. Things will change now and I’m betting the Cavaliers will not be as bad as advertised. Look for Rookie Collin Sexton and Kevin Love to stand tall.”

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the underachieving Wizards try to make it back towards to the top of the Southeast division. Handicapper Joe Nelson feels Washington will continue to trend down and go UNDER 44 ½ wins, “The crowded backcourt still features Bradley Beal and John Wall though the long expected breakthrough has never come for that duo with only one Southeast division title and only three series wins in the playoffs, never advancing past the conference semifinals. 49 wins in 2016-17 was the high point for this Wizards group as even in a depleted Eastern Conference the Wizards failed to top 43 wins two of the past three seasons. Washington might remain a playoff threat after slipping into the #8 spot last season but there might not be much incentive to put together many more wins than they did in last year’s 43-39 campaign.”

Staying in the Southeast, the Heat re-signed veteran star Dwyane Wade for one last go-around as Vince Akins sees a positive season in Miami. “This is by far the best value number on the ball. Miami won 44 games last season and that was while dealing with a ton of injuries. This season, they have more continuity than any other team in the league. That helps drive regular season success, particularly early in the season. Their players are mainly on the right side of the development curve, entering key developmental years or their primes. And to put a cherry on top of this, the Eastern Conference has gotten significantly worse than last season. Similar Eastern Conference teams in Washington, Milwaukee and Indiana have totals 3, 5 and 6 wins higher than this for no clear reason.”

Below are the season win totals courtesy of Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook:

Atlanta Hawks 23 ½
Boston Celtics 57 ½
Brooklyn Nets 32 ½
Charlotte Hornets 35 ½
Chicago Bulls 27 ½
Cleveland Cavaliers 30 ½
Dallas Mavericks 34 ½
Denver Nuggets 47 ½
Detroit Pistons 37 ½
Golden State Warriors 62 ½
Houston Rockets 54 ½
Indiana Pacers 47 ½
Los Angeles Clippers 35 ½
Los Angeles Lakers 48 ½
Memphis Grizzlies 34 ½
Miami Heat 41 ½
Milwaukee Bucks 46 ½
Minnesota Timberwolves 44 ½
New Orleans Pelicans 45 ½
New York Knicks 29 ½
Oklahoma City Thunder 50 ½
Orlando Magic 31 ½
Philadelphia 76ers 54 ½
Phoenix Suns 28 ½
Portland Trail Blazers 41 ½
Sacramento Kings 25 ½
San Antonio Spurs 43 ½
Toronto Raptors 54 ½
Utah Jazz 48 ½
Washington Wizards 44 ½

Listed below are the Win Total selections from our handicappers. Be sure to check out their daily pro basketball winners all season long on VegasInsider.com!

NBA Win Total Predictions

	OVER	UNDER
Alex Smart
Antony Dinero
ASA
Ben Burns
Bill Marzano
Brian Bitler
Brian Edwards
Bruce Marshall
Don Anthony
Greg Smith
Jim Feist
Jimmy Boyd
Joe Nelson
Joe Williams
John Fisher
Kevin Rogers
Kyle Hunter
Marc Lawrence
Mark Franco
Matt Fargo
Michael Black
NeiltheGreek
Paul Bovi
Scott Rickenbach
Stephen Nover
Vince Akins