We are well into the college basketball season, which means it’s time to turn our focus to the NBA. As we approach the end of March, those lazy days of letting basketball decide teams are over and for the most part, it’s over with the first game of the NBA Playoffs. That obviously doesn’t mean that the league has stopped, as there is still a lot of basketball games to be played in May and June. However, if you are betting on NBA games, it’s important to go after the best values. That means if you have a favorite team in a certain round of the playoffs, you need to bet away to protect your investment. However, there is a lot to be said for betting on a team to win its home court in the first round. You just can’t ignore the value of going against the spread when it comes to NBA playoff matchups. In this article, we will run down a few quick tips to help you with your betting in the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Home Court Advantage<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The home-court advantage in any sporting event is not something that is talked about much. However, the value of playing at home in the first round of the playoffs is worth noting. While many matchups work against the home team, there are some that will be worth your while to bet on. Cleveland, for instance, is a dangerous home team in the playoffs. They are 22-10 at home, and the only team in the Eastern Conference that has a better home record than them is the Detroit Pistons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detroit is a terrible team this year, but at home, they are a very good team. Meanwhile, the Cleveland onslaught has been their downfall. Look at these two teams head to head:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cleveland (22-9 overall) vs. Detroit (21-11) -16.5 points (Cleveland is a +11.5 favorite)Detroit (at home) vs. Cleveland (15-30) -16.5 points (Cleveland is a -2.5 favorite)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detroit is the best team in the East and obviously, the home team has the advantage. However, the value of playing the Cavs in Detroit is more than the home team. Cleveland has only played the West twice and the last time they beat the Pistons in the playoffs, in the conference finals. Similarly, the Pistons haven’t beaten a team from the East in the playoffs. Incidentally, the last time the Pistons played the Eastern Conference was in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The East is loaded with teams who can do damage in the playoffs based on their performance against the West in the first round. The headline of this game will be Detroit\/someday, not Cleveland\/Detroit. The Pistons will have a rough time scoring against an Ohio team that will probably be playing their second-best basketball of the year. If you move the line on Detroit, you might find that the Pistons are a 2-to-1 favorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re looking for a better value in basketball, take a little look at the round. The Pistons\/Spurs game opened at +18, but it already has been bet down to -3.5. The Warriors are +14, the Jazz +14, the Clippers +10, and the Bulls +10. When you look at the teams that are still left, the Spurs are -14, the Clippers -10, the Bulls +10, and the Mavs +6. That’s a huge spread for all teams, but particularly the ones left. The clippers, who are just out of the playoffs, are a slightly stronger +105.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s little doubt that the West is strongest in the East, though the 4th through 8th seeds have done quite well as of late in the playoffs. The top two seeds, the Pistons, and the Cavs have played each other twice and the Pistons have won both meetings. The Mavs and Suns have played each other four times and the Suns have won all four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s a three-way tie for the third seed in the East right now, the Pacers and the Cavs. One of those teams has a better record than the other two, and I like the Cavs +4. The Bulls +2.5 and the Heat +2 lead a group that also includes the smaller sum of +2 from the East and -4 from the West. The Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Heat -3 and the Bulls +3, so a play on the Heat might be the right one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the West, the Spurs are +12, the Suns +8, the Clippers +4, and the Mavs +3. The common factor between all of these teams is that they are all pretty good. That common factor doesn’t usually sell many tickets, so it’s important to find good value when you can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are well into the college basketball season, which means it’s time to turn our focus to the NBA. As we approach the end of March, those lazy days of letting basketball decide teams are over and for the most part, it’s over with the first game of the NBA Playoffs. That obviously doesn’t mean that the league has stopped, as there is still a lot of basketball games to be played in May and June. However,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gambling","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t