NBA Second Half Parody, Or Will ATS Leaders Excel?

So far this season, out of thirty teams in the National Basketball Association only a dozen are over .500 against the spread.

EASTERN Conference
ATLANTIC	All		Scoring					ATS
Team	W-L	Pct	PF	PA	Margin	Home	Away	W-L	Pct	OU
BOSTON	30-6	0.833	98.3	87.1	+11.1 Pts	16-3	14-3	23-13-0	63.9%	14-21-1
TORONTO	20-18	0.526	97.1	95.7	+1.4 Pts	10-8	10-10	20-17-1	54.1%	19-19-0

If nothing else, this mini-slump the Celtics are on might force GM Danny Ainge to think twice about not making any modifications to his team in preparation for the season's second half. Another creative force on the offensive end is probably now on the wish list, right there next to a veteran backup point guard and another big body to help inside.

CENTRAL	All		Scoring					ATS
Team	W-L	Pct	PF	PA	Margin	Home	Away	W-L	Pct	OU
DETROIT	29-10	0.744	98.3	89.7	+8.6 Pts	14-3	15-7	26-13-0	66.7%	17-21-1

Depth and mental will continue to make Detroit a consistent and reliable team covering the spread in the second half of the season.

SOUTHEAST	All		Scoring					ATS
Team	W-L	Pct	PF	PA	Margin	Home	Away	W-L	Pct	OU
ORLANDO	24-16	0.600	103.8	100.8	+3.0 Pts	8-8	16-8	26-14-0	65.0%	20-20-0
WASHINGTON	20-17	0.541	98.9	96.8	+2.2 Pts	11-8	9-9	23-13-1	63.9%	16-20-1
ATLANTA	18-17	0.514	95.3	95.5	-0.2 Pts	13-8	5-9	19-16-0	54.3%	13-22-0

Despite Orlando's inability to make the most of its home court, it is a blessing that the team has done most of its heavy lifting on the road already. Not having to travel as much in the season's second half will do wonders for the Magic's legs, so you can expect them to capitalize against weary teams that have to come into Amway Arena in March and April.

With Gilbert Arenas, Washington got clobbered in Boston. In two games against the Celtics without him, the Wizards have locked down defensively and come up with victories. Just something to think about if the situation arises in the playoffs. Arenas will have to buy into grinding it out, which seems to be the best formula to use against the East's new beast.

WESTERN Conference
NORTHWEST	All		Scoring					ATS
Team	W-L	Pct	PF	PA	Margin	Home	Away	W-L	Pct	OU
PORTLAND	23-14	0.622	97.3	95.5	+1.8 Pts	17-3	6-11	24-13-0	64.9%	15-22-0
DENVER	22-15	0.595	106.8	104.1	+2.8 Pts	15-5	7-10	19-18-0	51.4%	18-19-0

It's easy to get lost in the Pacific Northwest, especially since the No. 1 pick everyone was looking forward to watching is out for the season. Rather than become an afterthought, the Trail Blazers had other ideas, maturing much faster than anyone could've expected. They closed 2007 with a winning record, a half-game out of the Northwest Division lead.

Despite the unexpected rise to prominence, it's premature to say the Blazers will seal the deal, continue their strong play and stay among the Western Conference's top eight. But no one will ever be able to take away their accomplishments the first half of the season. Can they keep it up the second half of the season?

PACIFIC	All				Scoring											ATS
Team	W-L		Pct		PF		PA		Margin		Home			Away		W-L		Pct		OU
LA LAKERS	26-11		0.703		107.8		101.4		+6.4 Pts		15-5			11-6		22-15-0		59.5%		19-17-1
SACRAMENTO		15-21		0.417		99.1		101.8		-2.8 Pts		11-9	4-12		20-16-0		55.6%		19-15-2

Losing Andrew Bynum is compounded by Chris Mihm and Vladimir Radmanovic also being out. When healthy, both present matchup problems that Phil Jackson can exploit to buy the team some time, but the fact that neither has been able to stay on the court while in a Lakers uniform makes it difficult to count on their contributions over the next two months at least.

SOUTHWEST

New Orleans  (25-12 SU, 22-14 ATS, 14-23 OU)

If Tyson Chandler is indeed a new version of Marcus Camby, New Orleans fans can be encouraged by the fact that he's a few years ahead of the Denver center's pace at 25, despite the fact he skipped college. Camby was among the nation's best players at UMass, but Chandler has gone through the ups and downs of learning as he goes along and seems to have come out of it just fine.