The basketball market in sports betting is one of the most popular among bettors and bookmakers. This is due to the large number of matches taking place every day. The only exception is the summer period, when the leagues are in the off-season. As basketball lines are being promoted, bettors are working out basketball betting strategies.
Specifics of betting on the NBA
If we only touch on the National Basketball Association, a huge number of statistical breakdowns are provided by the league itself. You have to keep an eye on them too, as the bookmakers’ analysts will draw their lines relying on the language of figures too. Teams can be home, or play better away. Teams may play offensive basketball and forget about defense, or vice versa they may play better on defense – this has to be taken into consideration when choosing your betting line.
Changes in the teams’ line-up also play an important role, and the bettor should keep an eye on the teams’ social profiles.
List of Basketball Betting Strategies
- Bets on individual player totals
A strategy in which the bettor relies on the information he receives before the start of a basketball match. Often bookmakers do not have time to change the line after the departure of one of the basketball players in the team, which the player should take advantage of. If the leading player of the team gets injured, his shots will invariably go to the second star of the team, which will lead to more points being scored. In this case, it is advisable to bet on a higher total on the second star of the team, or on the player who is assumed to have the higher possession. - Betting on total and handicap in the quarter
To play this betting strategy, the bettor should look out for games played in live mode. Only women’s basketball games and European Championship Second Divisions are not suitable. Matches without a clear favourite (up to odds 1.3 per team in pre-match) are excluded from the selection.
Basketball is a cyclical game, where teams change their attacking schemes and vary the starting five as often as they wish. So if the starting five do not play well, the substitutes can compensate. That’s why it’s worth keeping an eye on the odds from the start of the quarter and note the totals and handicaps offered by the bookmaker.
In the case of teams showing ineffective basketball or the favourite not being able to take the lead, the bettor should wait for the total to change by 4-5 points and bet on either the favourite’s handicap or the higher total for the quarter. It is very likely that the players who come out will change the game and ensure that the betting will go in. - Betting on favourites in the third quarter
Suitable for this strategy are games where the odds on the favourite are not higher than 1.2. The underdog should win by 10 points or more.
The third quarter is often the turning point. This is due to the big break, where the team leaders can rest and the coach can change his strategy and approach to the game. This is largely the reason why the stronger teams win the third quarter most of the time. In this scenario, however, the favourite needs to win, as it is losing by a wide margin.
The bettor should bet on a handicap of the favourite team in the third quarter, unless the handicap exceeds 5.5 points. Otherwise we recommend waiting for a similar value, as betting on a handicap of more than two attacks is dangerous.
