Why are you here? Why am I here?

A new season brings new expectations and new curiosities. After the draft is conducted, the Woj bombs are dropped, and the dust is settled, what happens next? From now until the ball goes up on December 22nd in Brooklyn, we project; we prognosticate; we wonder what the hell the Pistons were doing. And some of us put our money where our mouth is.

Shortly after free agency begins to settle, sports books offer their season win total bets. It’s simple: Atlanta Hawks 37.5 wins. Will the Hawks win more or fewer than 37 and a half wins?

You’re here because that question interests you. Maybe you want to read how someone projects your specific team’s regular season performance. Maybe you’re preparing to make your own season win total bets. Maybe you’re like us and simply enjoy reading solid NBA analysis.

I’m here for two reasons: basketball and gambling.

Actually, that’s why we’re here. We love basketball and gambling. We’re millennials who grew up in San Antonio with David Robinson posters on our walls and directed our first curse words toward Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. One of us is current engineer and former bookie who utilizes way-too-complicated spreadsheets on a daily basis. The other one is a lawyer that moonlights as a music critic and has now taken the task of summarizing the engineer’s data analysis. We’re also likely two of the most prolific betters of this specific proposition: NBA season win totals. 

We’ve been collaborating on these bets since 2013, improving an approach that blends statistical analysis and bar talk. Sometimes our bets in Vegas move the line. And last year, our entry took home second place (and a few thousand dollars) in Westgate’s inaugural Pro Hoops Season Wins Contest. Check out our entry below.

So, if we’re so good at this, why give away our secrets? A couple of motivations:

·         Ego. It’s fun to be the expert.

·         Opportunity. Perhaps a publisher or website would be interested in paying us to produce this work. Maybe you are a high-roller that would pay us a consulting fee to give you our projections before the win total lines are released (yes, we start projecting as soon as the season concludes, and hell yes, we’ll talk if the price is right). Maybe you’re a sportsbook that will pay us a consulting fee to establish the lines. Hey, why gamble if you’ll pay us up front?

·         Opportunity again. There are some pretty good win total projections out there, but not many. There is not a lot of dedicated, detailed team-by-team discussion available online. We believe can fill this void.

·         Fun. Again, we love basketball and we love gambling. We also love writing and talking about these bets. We do this anyway.

Back to why you are here. We assume you love basketball and we hope you enjoy our analysis and writing. But why should you listen to us?

1.       This 2020-2021 is our first season putting our predictions out in public. You should be skeptical – we have not proven anything to you—yet. We’ll prove it you this year and hope we’ve caught your attention for next year.

2.       Our predictions are not hollow. We actually bet on this, and we’re going to show you betting slip to prove it. Who else is doing that?

Please troll us when we get one wrong—although if you saw the New York Knicks winning 50 games, you should join our team next year.