We shall allow others to defend or mock the NBA zigzag theory ad nausea. For the few not familiar, it basically says bet a playoff team off a straight up loss. However, we will list which playoff teams are best against the spread off straight up wins and straight up losses in 2010-11.
The top teams to bet on off a straight up loss:
| Team | ATS Record | Margin of cover |
| Chicago | 14-5-1 | +6.1 |
| Boston | 16-10 | +2.6 |
| Philadelphia | 24-15-1 | +4.1 |
| Denver | 18-13 | +1.6 |
Now to the best teams to bet against off a straight up loss:
| Team | ATS Record | Margin of cover |
| Miami | 7-16-1 | -5.4 |
| Dallas | 9-16 | -1.8 |
| LA Lakers | 10-15 | -4.4 |
Here are the best teams against the spread to bet on off a straight up win:
| Team | ATS Record | Margin of cover |
| Miami | 33-24 | +2.9 |
| Denver | 25-21-4 | +2.6 |
Perhaps, not surprising, the best teams to fade off a win failed to make the playoffs (Washington, Houston, Sacramento, Utah), but these are the best postseason teams to bet against when coming off a straight up victory:
| Team | ATS Record | Margin of cover |
| Indiana | 15-21-1 | -2.6 |
| Atlanta | 19-25 | -2.3 |
OffshoreInsiders.com has now added Bill Tanner to their arsenal of handicappers. Tanner is the all-time winningest NBA handicapper on Power of 620 sports services behind every selection, the MasterLockLine, tracing back to the scorephone days of the early 1980s.
“Renamed “sweat meter” in Chad Millman of ESPN’s column, Margin of Cover (MOC) is similar to scoring margin, but it is measured by how much a team covers or fails to cover the point spread.
Many sports handicappers believe MOC is invaluable in isolating under and overvalued teams.