If you are a pretty good handicapper of professional baseball or football, you may or may not be just as equally good at picking NBA games. In handicapping, each sport is different and demands specialized knowledge about the sport, players, teams and more. With that being said, just because you are able to pick NFL games at 60% success rate, it does not mean that you will be able to do the same with NBA games.
NBA handicapping does not start during the beginning of the season or preseason like NFL for an example. It starts right after the playoffs are over. Once the NBA champions have been crowned, the time to start handicapping for the next NBA season begins. If you are interested in learning about the best NBA handicappers, keep reading below.
What is Sports Handicapping?
Sports handicapping refers to the practice of spectators and gamblers trying to predict and quantify the outcome of a game to place a winning bet. Of the four major American sports, NBA is still regarded as the easiest to predict on a regular basis. However, this perceived predictability tends to have two sides to the coin; on one side, it is nice to be able to handicap a matchup on your own and be pretty accurate more often than not. On the other side, the bookmakers are either spot on or extremely close with their opening lines with more regularity than what we would have hoped for.
Still, betting on NBA basketball offers excellent profit potential to those who understand how to navigate this unique betting avenue. Here are a few things to consider when handicapping basketball games:
Line Movement
Each day, oddsmakers put out a “point spread” for the upcoming games. This point spread is commonly referred to as the opening line or the morning line and is one of the first things one should look at when NBA handicapping. Theoretically, this opening line is created with the intent to get balanced action on both sides. Balanced action simple refers to the same number of bets on each opposing team for the purpose of the bookies being able to grab “the vig” guaranteeing them a profit.
As the day progresses and betting patterns are formed, a “line” or “point spread” will change. A smart and experienced handicapper will try to decipher what the reason was for the line change to help make their decision for the next bet.
Public Consensus
Another important factor to consider when betting on basketball is finding out what the public census is. You can do this easily by going to a website that tracks this kind of data. If the public is one-siding a game to the tune of 75% or better and the line is not moving at all, chances are you don’t want to be on the side of the public.
Motivation
Lastly, another great thing to consider when handicapping basketball is motivation. For an example, what is Team Y’s motivation to beat Team X? The best NBA handicappers tend to take on a detective role to dig up motivation issues in order to get a good fix on the game. This is because in many situations, NBA players are already making a huge salary and don’t have any real motivation to play. This is why due diligence is important!
Who Are the Best NBA Handicappers?
- Doc’s Sports
- Larry Wallace
- Pro Computer Gambler
- Dustin Hawkins
- Stephen Nover
- Brody Vaughn
- Mr. East
- Jesse Schule
- Art Aronson
- R&R Totals
NBA handicapping a fun wat to place bets on your favorite players and teams. While learning the ropes may take time to fully master, the result will totally be worth it!
