Taylor Bicht
2 min read • June 27, 2022
Posted in
With the 2022 NBA Championship won by the Golden State Warriors and the NBA Draft circus packed up, the sweltering dog days of summer are upon as we wait for the new season to begin October 2022. With just under four months of idle time till the next regular season tip-off, let's look back at how our NBA Team SIC scores did in regards to the betting market last season.
Beginning Feb. 25, SICscore.com debuted NBA SIC scores which is a product similar to our beloved NFL SIC scores. The scores are created in consultation with our panel of Pro Basketball Docs, encompassing a teams overall health using a multitude of factors.
Before creating scores for every playoff game, we choose to create health scores for the televised games to maximize the viewership of each SIC score matchup. In the future we will be creating more matchups per day and will have scores for every NBA team.
Team Health scores usually range from 100-50 with few falling under the 50 mark.
The highest team SIC score of the season was the champions Golden State Warriors at 95, reaching this number in the NBA Finals. The health of the roster peaked at the perfect time with Steph Curry back from his foot injury and minor ankle scare, Klay Thompson playing well after missing 941 days due to ACL and Achilles tears, Draymond Green playing through a disc issue in his back and the hatful of injuries at the SF position that all returned including Gary Payton II who suffered an elbow fracture during the second round.
The lowest SIC score of the season belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies at 38.4. The Grizzlies were bitten multiple times by the injury bug before their April 1 game against the Phoenix Suns with 4/5 starters out plus backup PG Tyus Jones. This left SF Dillion Brooks as the lone starter to play and even he was coming off a previous ankle injury. Grizzlies miraculously won the home game outright, one of 30 last season.
Over the course of the 2021-2022 season, actionable information emerged that we believe can carry over into the coming season.
When a NBA matchup holds a differential of 10+ points in reference to their SIC scores, against the spread the healthier squad covers at a rate of 61.2% (30-19-2). During the regular season, it sat at a crispier 66.7% (20-10-2).
Blinding betting ATS turned a massive profit however the information can be used for more that sides and totals including player props. The props market can be exploited using our injury analysis i.e., Boston Celtics F Jayson Tatum who we covered extensively, clearly was bothered by a shoulder issue and preceded to go under his point total prop in every Finals game.
The Battle of LA was an unhealthy one all season as was this particularly game. Lebron James had been dealing with a knee issue previously and had just returned while fellow star Anthony Davis was out due to a mid-foot sprain. Carmelo Anthony was just coming back from a hamstring issue while Avery Bradley was out with a injury. Clippers were again down both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George but had been for awhile and had learned to play without both. Although James was playing, we gave the Clippers the heather SIC score which resulted in an outright 105-102 win for the underdog.
The second game of the first round playoff series was vastly different from Game 1 in terms of health with the Raptors missing two starters. Scottie Barnes suffered an ankle injury Game 1 and was sidelined while guard Gary Trent Jr. was out due to illness. The Raptors dropped from a team SIC score of 93.6 to a 75 which resulted in 15 point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, doubling up on the -7.5 closing spread. This example outlays what we call a drastic delta or sudden change in movement which in this case was a negative delta in terms of health for the Raptors going from Game 1 to 2.
The New York squads battled it out with not much between their SIC scores, a season low .3 differential. Brooklyn was without star duo Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving while the Knicks had been dealing with the loss of Derrick Rose for months plus multiple bench players dealing with knocks including Kemba Walker, Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin and Nerlens Noel. The Knicks finished the game losing by three, 110-107, but covering the spread. Although using the info like this is a tad risky, it can be used as the deciding factor if you believe a matchup is a tossup.
Next NBA season, we will be posting more actionable content including scores for all teams. More matchups will be posted as well with associated Court Views. Our bets heading into next season will be tracked publicly for complete transparency including prop plays that tie into our into our injury analysis.
Stay tuned for more NBA content as the offseason rolls along here at SICscore.com.
Written by Taylor Bicht
