Handicapping is all about brainpower. The sharpest betting minds build the biggest bankrolls by outsmarting everyone else – starting with other bettors, the media, and the front office people who make the call on which athletes to hire.

It’s relatively easy to catch us in the media when we make a mistake – it’s right there in black and white. Square bettors also get pretty quick feedback on their errors when their bankrolls dry up. But a franchise can go through years of frustration without ever owning up to its blunders. The New York Knicks lurch into this category; let’s pull up those ATS numbers under Isiah Thomas:

2003-04: 44-37-1 (Thomas was hired midseason)
2004-05: 42-40
2005-06: 38-44
2006-07: 39-43
2007-08: 37-44-1

Handicappers who shook their heads with every questionable roster move Thomas made were able to profit from his mistakes by fading the Knicks. He will be missed, but we suspect Thomas will be back.