Take the Points, Dog – January 23

Sometimes, you gotta just take the points. If you have been around sports betting enough, you probably understand what “take the points” means. If you are relatively new to the world of gambling on sports, “take the points” is a common phrase that refers to a bettor placing a point spread wager on an underdog. 

Let’s take last night’s NBA action to help us better understand how to take the points. The Milwaukee Bucks were a 12.5-point favorite over the Detroit Pistons last night. That’s a pretty large number to cover, even if the Pistons are 4-39. A bettor could “take the points” and bet on Detroit to cover the 12.5-point spread. The final score last night was Milwaukee 122, Detroit 113. Since the Pistons only lost by nine, a bet on the underdog was a winner!

When to Take the Points

There are times when it simply makes sense to take the points and place your bet on the underdog. Another example happened last night in the NBA in Philadelphia. The big news out of Philly last night was Joel Embiid (more on that later), but the Sixers hosted the San Antonio Spurs as 13.5-point favorites. Like Detroit, San Antonio is awful. They are a little better than the Pistons in terms of record at 8-35.

In NBA betting, double-digit point spreads are difficult to cover. Even bad teams have enough talent to stay within ten points of an opponent. Plus, if a good team is blowing out a poor team, often coaches will rest starters later in the game. That gives the losing team a chance to make up some of a large deficit. 

Last night, the Spurs actually kept things close and trailed by just four at the half. They would end up losing, but only by 10 points. That, of course, meant that bettors who voted to take the points were winners. 

Take the Points This Weekend

Another example of when to take the points is happening right before our eyes. In Sunday’s AFC championship game, Baltimore opened as a 2.5-point favorite. Early betting has moved that line to 3.5. The most common scoring margin in the NFL is three points. With Kansas City a 3.5-point underdog, it may make sense to take the points and bet on the Chiefs. Remember, Patrick Mahomes and company don’t have to win. They just have to lose by three points or less.

Like the NBA, it’s also hard to cover double-digit spreads in the NFL. Now, you can’t blindly take the points on every double-digit underdog, but usually playoff games are pretty close. In last week’s divisional playoffs, Houston was a 10-point underdog to Baltimore and Green Bay was a 10.5-point underdog to San Francisco. The Texans kept it close for a half before Ravens QB Lamar Jackson broke things open and Baltimore won 34-10. The Ravens did cover.

The Packers, on the other hand, made things real interesting, holding a 21-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Green Bay would ultimately lose 24-21, but the Packers covered the 10.5-point spread. If you had decided to take the points on Green Bay, you were a winner.

Inside Information Pays Off

The Sports Hub Insider is changing the world of sports betting. Armed with inside information gleaned from nearly 100 years of experience in the betting industry, the Sports Hub Insider wins on a consistent basis. The Insider did exactly that last night, winning all five picks to earn $523 and the top spot on yesterday’s leaderboard. 

The Insdier wasn’t the only Sports Hub exclusive handicapper among those at the top of the leaderboard either. All of the top-5 won at least 62 percent of their picks yesterday and added at least $330 to their bankrolls.

Let’s take a look.

• The Insider: Sports Hub Insider went 5-0 and, according to his bet receipt, won $523 yesterday. Over the last three days, the Insider is 15-8 and has won $863. The Insider is also No. 3 on the overall 7-day leaderboard, going 25-16 with $1027 in earnings.

• Knup Sports: Our friends at Knup Sports got back into the action last night. They opted to take the points on the Spurs last night. That was one of 15 correct predictions last night. Knup went 15-9 and took home $510 to finish second on the board yesterday.
• Tonny Ricci: Tonny is no stranger to this part of the daily leaderboard. He was a perfect 4-0 yesterday and added $400 to his bankroll. He’s won $736 over the last week and is up $1886 for the month.
• Madjack Sports: Our other close partners in crime, Madjack Sports, had themselves a strong day, going 6-2 and earning $390. Madjack opted to take the points on both the Pistons and Spurs last night. Both of those teams covered, of course. Madjack is now up $2105 over the last 30 days.
• SWJ Sports: Rounding out the top-5 was another Sports Hub expert. Scott at SWJ Sports went 4-1 and won $330 yesterday. Scott is now up $1046 over the last 30 days.

Speaking of Take the Points

If we are talking about points, well, there were plenty last night in the NBA. Two NBA stars went over 60 points last night. One of the stars’ teams won while the other took a loss. The Tennessee Titans are very close to having their next head coach and a tennis legend is back in the Australian Open semifinals.

Here’s what’s trending today.

• Embiid for 70: Even if you decided to take the points in the Spurs-Sixers game, the result was worth watching. Sixers star and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid went absolutely nuts and set a franchise record with 70 points. Embiid shot 24-of-41 from the floor and 21-of-23 from the free throw line and he added 18 rebounds. Philly won 133-123.

• KAT goes for 62: There was another double-digit underdog in the NBA last night. If you decided to take the points on Charlotte against Western Conference leader Minnesota, most would have thought you were crazy. Turns out, you’d be a winner. TWolves star Karl-Anthony Towns hit 21-of-35 shots and 10-of-14 free throws to score a career-high 62 points, but he missed a three-point attempt on the game’s final possession and the Hornets recorded a 128-125 upset.
• Titans new head coach: Tennessee is working out a deal to make Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brian Callahan the team’s next head coach. Callahan has been the Bengals OC for the last five years and helped the team win two AFC North titles and earn a trip to the Super Bowl in 2021.
• Djokovic on to the semis: Tennis great Novak Djokovic beat Taylor Fritz yesterday in the Australian Open quarterfinals. That means Djokovic advances to the semifinals for the 11th time.

Tuesday’s Sports Schedule

There is plenty of college basketball action tonight. Several AP Top 25 teams play tonight. The NHL has a nice slate of games and the NBA offers up a TNT doubleheader. There is betting value out there and if you need help finding it stay right here at Sports Hub. You can check out our picks database all day long. Our winning handicappers will be putting their picks for today’s games into the database throughout the day. Members can access them at any time.

Here’s a look at today’s schedule.

1. College basketball: Eight of the AP Top 25 teams will play tonight. That includes No. 2 Purdue which will host Michigan in a Big Ten clash. The big one tonight and the only matchup of ranked teams occurs in the Big 12. No. 4 Houston plays at No. 21 BYU. 
2. NBA doubleheader: There are only five NBA games tonight and two of those make up the TNT doubleheader. New York is at Brooklyn in the early game. The late game is a battle for Los Angeles. The Lakers play the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers are the home team tonight.
3. Winning streak on the line in NHL: There are nine NHL games tonight and all eyes will be on the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers host Columbus looking for a 14th consecutive victory. The Blue Jackets are the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-22-9 record. The Oilers are 26-15-1.

4. Soccer: None of the world’s top leagues play today, but there is plenty of action in other leagues around the world. The English League One, English League Two, and English National League all have multiple matches, for example.
5. Tennis: Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, and Aryna Sabalenka all punched their tickets to the Australian Open semifinals with wins yesterday. More quarterfinal action takes place today.

Whether you take the points or not, there is plenty of action on the betting board today. As I mentioned before, use Sports Hub to help you make your betting decisions today. We’ve got tons of great content and, more importantly, the best handicappers in the world. Check the members’ area all day for winning picks in all sports then come back here tomorrow for more.