Utah Jazz find themselves right behind the Bucks again in this issue although they have moved from fourth place to second place in our list of the top five in the league. The Jazz have used a very strong home spread record to make their move in our countdown, they are 21-10-2 ATS (67.7%) which is tops in the league when playing in front of the hometown fans. In our search for specific situations to possibly back the Jazz we see that they are very strong coming off a SU loss in their last game going 17-5 ATS (77.3%) in that situation this season. We also note that they are a money making 12-3 ATS (80%) when taking on teams from the Southwest Division. Key Angle: Utah is 5-0 ATS (100%) when playing with no rest in back-to-back road games this year.

Oklahoma City has fallen from second to third place in our countdown with an overall record of 37-25 ATS (59.7%) this season. The Thunder have been one of the most consistent teams in the countdown even though they dropped a spot from our last issue they actually entered the countdown in the third position. Based on the premise that teams play better at home you may think that’s the best situation to back this young Thunder team but that is not the case they are only 16-14 ATS (53.3%) in front of their home crowd while a very solid 21-11 ATS (65.6%) on the highway which gives them the number two spot in the league when playing away from home. OKC has been money when coming off a SU loss in their last game posting a record of 19-5 ATS (79.2%) this season. Key Angle: Play Over when the Thunder are playing with no rest in a back-to-back road situation. These games have gone over at a rate of 5-1 this year.

Atlanta Hawks fifteen minutes are up; they held the number one position in our last countdown but have since fallen to number four. Their fall can be attributed to poor spread performances at home and on the road. In our last countdown Atlanta was dominating foes on their home floor leading the league with a spread record of 18-9 ATS but they are now only 19-13 ATS in front of the hometown folk. The Hawks have struggled on the road posting a record of 17-14 ATS which ranks 12th in the league this season. Both are winning spread records but not strong enough to hold onto the number one position in our countdown. The Hawks are 11-3 ATS (78.6%) versus teams from the Atlantic Division. Key Angle: Atlanta is 11-0-1 ATS facing a team they defeated in their previous same-season match-up and they have a revenge game on deck.

Phoenix Suns enter the countdown for the first time this season with an overall record of 36-28-1 ATS (56.2%) which is good enough for the fifth and final spot. The Suns are 17-14-1 ATS for 54.8% winners on their home floor this season. Their road record has helped propel them into the countdown going 19-14 ATS for 57.6% on the year. The search for solid winning situations in which to possibly back the Suns has turned up a 24-12 ATS mark which is 66.7% winners when they are playing with one-day of rest. Key Angle: Phoenix is 14-0 Over on the road with at most one day of rest after a double-digit home victory in which they shot fifty percent or better from the field, going over by an average of 12.6 points per game.

NBA ATS Countdown System:

Play ON NBA road underdogs with at least one day of rest after a double-digit loss in which they shot at least fifty percent from the field. These road underdogs are 15-1 ATS and average covering the spread by 6.2 points per game since 2008.