With the first round elimination of the Spurs, the team with the best regular season record this season, quickly followed by the four-game sweep of the two-time defending champion Lakers, NBA betting fans may be looking for a new team to back in the ongoing playoffs. Look no further than Dallas, where the Spurs are fashioning one of the greatest bettor-friendly streaks in post-season history.
The irony, both for NBA teams and NBA betting fans, is that after an 82-game regular season that eliminates just 14 of the league's 30 teams, the playoffs offer a new set of challenges for athletes and gamblers. In fact, the post-season requires a different skill set, with savvy bettors fully aware that what might have been successful strategy in the autumn and winter may have no wagering relevance in the spring and early summer.
We're about a third of the way through the regular season and you really can't blame that contingent of NBA betting fans who are crying "foul" for the way things are turning out on the hardcourt, this year.
It's still five men a side with what started as a peach basket at each end but fans of college basketball betting face a whole new set of challenges and considerations when moving from wagering on the NBA to the NCAA game.
As a whole, Pacific Division teams were 24-33-1 as road favorites last season, a statistic that NBA betting practitioners will be tracking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Oklahoma City's success on the court continued at the windows where the Thunder came as a surprise to most NBA betting followers. You can be sure that gamblers will be keeping a closer eye on Oklahoma City this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
The Magic has been 46-24-2 against the spread versus Southeast Division foes over the past four seasons, a solid wagering trend that betting devotees will be eyeing again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
NBA Central Division teams were "underwhelming" last season as not a single unit played more "over" games than "under" games, a trend NBA betting aficionados will be following this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Not a single Atlantic Division team enjoyed a winning record against the spread last season, a trend which NBA betting fans surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Consider yourself the luckiest (or smartest) NBA betting fan in the world if you had the foresight to make a future book wager on the Heat at odds of 25/1. After opening at that generous price, Miami, now with perennial all-stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining resident top pro Dwayne Wade in South Beach, is a solid 7/4 favorite to capture the 2010-11 NBA Championship. The defending champion LA Lakers are a 3/1 second choice to earn their third consecutive NBA title.
We're about halfway through the current NBA season and if NBA betting fans thought there would be some correlation between winning on the court and winning at the windows they're probably working from a very meager bankroll about now.
While most sports betting practitioners judge success or failure on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, there's something special about wiping the slate clean in a new year. Of course, with the NFL, NBA, college basketball and NHL seasons overlapping the change in calendars that may be truer in form than function.
Even if you've done well during the long NBA betting season, there's no guarantee that your good fortune will continue when the playoffs tip-off, April 17. The post-season is a whole new ball game for gamblers, bringing new challenges and opportunities but no expectation that what worked through the fall and winter will have any betting relevance into the spring and early summer.
As a whole, Pacific Division teams were 27 games under .500 against the spread last season, a statistic that NBA betting practitioners will be tracking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season in parentheses:
It probably comes as little surprise to NBA betting followers that the three best teams in the division, Denver, Portland and Utah, also were very solid plays at home, notching a 78-53-2 mark against the spread last season, an evolving trend worth watching. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season in parentheses:
Every team in the Southwest Division had a losing record against the spread last season, a trend NBA betting fans will be monitoring carefully again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season in parentheses:
The Cavaliers were wagering bullies but three other teams within the division also had winning pointspread records last year, a trend NBA betting aficionados will be tracking this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season in parentheses:
Since acquiring Kevin Garnett, Boston has ruled the division the last two seasons, both straight up and against the spread, trends which NBA betting fans will be monitoring. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2008/09 season in parentheses:
The Lakers are a narrow future book NBA betting favorite over the Cavaliers to win a second straight championship next summer. The matchup, which was expected but did not materialize last season when Cleveland failed to keep up its end of the bargain, would pit the game's two biggest super stars, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, and the Cavaliers' LeBron James, against each other in a bonanza for TV ratings.
NBA betting enthusiasts who wagered on games during the regular season will need to address a whole new set of challenges when the playoffs tip off in mid April.
Motivation should be the only question as bettor-friendly Boston seeks a second straight NBA championship after competing in the NBA's weakest division. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2007/08 season are in parentheses:
Sports betting darling Detroit should be able to hold off Cleveland in a division that always offers many wagering opportunities. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2006/07 season are in parentheses:
The Magic were also magic to NBA betting fans last season but a rising Heat and a dangerous team of Wizards may have something to say about that this year. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2006/07 season are in parentheses:
Having emerged as a serious contender last season two or three years before most predicted, don't expect the Jazz to wait around for the rest of the division to catch them. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2006/07 season are in parentheses:
The Lakers not only were the best team but the best pointspread team in the division a year ago. The former may be easier to achieve than the latter this season. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2006/07 season are in parentheses:
It would be wagering justice if New Orleans, the team with the best pointspread record in the Western Conference last season, won it all this time, which is a distinct possibility. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2006/07 season are in parentheses:
Olympic Games betting never has enjoyed the action of a World Cup, a Wimbledon, an NBA Championship or a World Series, but the inclusion of soccer, tennis, basketball and baseball, not to mention dozens of other sports popular in different parts of the globe, should ensure that the bi-annual five-ring circus, which gets underway in Beijing, August 8, will keep both bet makers and takers hopping.
Don't get too cocky if you did well betting NBA basketball during the regular season because the playoffs, which tip-off at the end of this month, are a whole new ball game for gamblers.
The Suns should have little difficulty repeating in a division that they won by 19 games last season. The fight will be for second among the two LA teams and Golden State.
Having emerged as a serious contender last season two or three years before most predicted, don't expect the Jazz to wait around for the rest of the division to catch them.
