A quick look at the NBA standings at the All-Star break shows the average fan a couple of surprises. The Utah Jazz have the league’s best record and are 2.5 games ahead of another surprise – Phoenix – in the Western Conference.

The Milwaukee Bucks, who had the NBA’s best overall regular season record in each of the past two seasons, currently sits third in the Eastern Conference behind Philadelphia (24-12) and Brooklyn (24-13).

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What may also be surprising are the most profitable teams to bet in NBA totals. If you are looking to maximize your bankroll over the second half of the NBA season, take a look at these most profitable Over/Under teams at the NBA All-Star break.

Somebody Loves New Orleans

The Pelicans were supposed to be much improved, especially on the defensive end with new head coach Stan Van Gundy. New Orleans is just 15-21 over the first half of the 2021 NBA season primarily because the defense is not very good.

The Pelicans are just 15-21 ATS, but totals bettors have profited dramatically when betting on New Orleans’ games. The Pelicans are 26-10 to the Over on the season.

What is extremely impressive is that New Orleans began the season with five consecutive Unders. That means over the past 31 games the Over is 26-5 in Pelicans games. The Over has hit in 12 of the last 14 for New Orleans.

New Orleans averages 115.5 points per game but gives up 115.9. The Pels eclipse the total by an average of 5.7 points per game. That’s best in the NBA.

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Bet Over on These Three

Three other teams trend toward the Over at 60 percent or higher. The Over is 25-11 (69.4 percent) in Sacramento games. That isn’t all that shocking considering the Kings give up an NBA high of 120.4 points per game.

Brooklyn is the highest scoring team in the NBA and it’s not surprising that they trend toward the Over (25-12, 67.6 percent). The other team is Denver, which is second in scoring in the Western Conference averaging 115.9 points a game. The Over is 23-13 (63.9 percent) in Nuggets games.

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Defense Translates to Unders

The best defensive team in the NBA through the All-Star break was the New York Knicks. They allow a league-low 104.4 points per game. The Knicks only score 104.9 points a game on offense, so it’s no wonder they lead the NBA with a record of 23-14 to the Under.

The Knicks combined team total per game is just 209.3 points. New York goes Under the posted total by an average of -4.6 points a game. That is just slightly better than the Los Angeles Lakers (-4.1) who also boast the same 23-14 record to the Under.

The Lakers lead the Western Conference in opponent points per game (106.3) and are second overall to New York in the NBA.

Houston is the only other team (60.6 percent) with an Under percentage of higher than 60 percent. The Under is 20-13-1 in Rockets games so far this season.