March Madness betting players know all about momentum as they’ve seen Connecticut parlay a win in the Big East tournament into a trip to the national title game. In the NBA, Denver has been a different team since trading away their superstar, and they’re starting to earn the status of “the team no one wants to play”. Denver is 15-4 SU and 16-2-1 ATS in 19 games since they pulled the trigger on the season’s biggest trade, sending Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to New York for Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Ray Felton and Timofey Mozgov. It’s definitely not a stretch to say that the Nuggets are a better team since moving Anthony and Billups to the Big Apple, but you should receive a sports betting bonus if you picked them to be this good. The Nuggets have won six in a row heading into a showdown at home with Oklahoma City, who will be their likely first-round opponents, and they’re doing it with things they couldn’t do with Anthony, in particular, in the lineup, things like ball movement and defense. While Anthony is one of the best offensive players in the league and arguably the best pure scorer in the West, he has been known to be a black hole in that, you’re not getting the ball once he gets it. This is something that the Knicks have found out and some, namely Amare Stoudemire, have complained about Anthony’s place in Mike D’Antoni’s system. It’s even worse on the defensive end of the floor, as Anthony plays little to no defense and while Billups is a smart defensive player, he’s not quick enough to stay in front of the best point guards in the league anymore. Those checking NBA scores have seen the Nuggets really buckle down on defense, and during this recent six-game streak, they’ve allowed an average of 94.3 points, which is something that was highly unlikely with Anthony in the lineup. They’re playing terrific team defense, and their interior players have been incredible, which will be huge in the playoffs. But offensively, the Nuggets are moving the ball around with six players averaging 10.7 points in the month of March, and it seems like someone new steps up each night. The point-guard duo of Felton and Ty Lawson will be crucial against a team like the Thunder, who have Russell Westbrook at the point. Felton and Lawson are familiar with each other as Lawson took over at the point when Felton left North Carolina, and Felton actually hosted Lawson on his recruiting trip. J.R. Smith is also taking good shots and sharing the ball, instead of his ball-hog tendencies which he likely got from watching Anthony. The Denver Nuggets could definitely be worth a bet in your sports betting book if they close the season strong.
