Basketball is an exciting sport that is passionately by fans who remain glued to the second-by-second action of the game to see what their favourite stars will come up with in the heat of pressure.
Betting in basketball can add up an extra layer of emotion to those who watch and follow this sport but it is important to understand the dynamics that typically drive the outcome of a game to increase the odds of a positive outcome.
In case you are contemplating the idea of placing your first basketball bet, the following article shares some tips that you may want to consider.
#1 – Do some pre-game research
Knowing all the details about the game is crucial to placing an informed bet. In this regard, you may want to check out statistics about how the teams have performed against each other in the past and what has been the average score in those instances.
For professional leagues, a pre-game assessment is mandatory and this would involve analyzing certain variables including unexpectedly injured or missing players, changes in the team’s strategy, player substitutions that may affect the team’s key strengths, and the results from the latest games as a potential indicator of the team’s current sentiment.
If you take a look at the best betting sites in Canada for sports fans, you will see that they typically provide some or most of that information along with last-minute details about the game. The odds assigned to each team and different outcomes can also tell you a lot about what could happen and you may use that in your favour to outline plausible scenarios.
Meanwhile, you can place bets during the game as well and you can lookout for signs of trouble in any of the teams. For example, let’s say that one of the team’s coaches looks agitated during the first quarter. This might be a sign that the team is struggling to execute the strategy they had set forth for the game.
If a key player had to be taken out amid an injury or other similar event, the odds may also change drastically and that could be a good time to place a bet depending on which team you are going with.
Both before and during the game, every slight change in the variables cited above may influence the outcome of the match.
#2 – Identify the most important quantitative data points
Knowing the terminology and meaning of the most relevant quantitative data like the handicap is also important to bet on basketball. For example, the handicap indicates the advantage or disadvantage that a team has against its rival expressed in points.
Meanwhile, knowing each player’s average score, rebounds, and other key performance metrics will allow gamblers to identify the odds that a team has to score a certain number of points. This is a relevant estimation used to determine the chances of winning that a time has based on their average score per match.
#3 – Analyze the statistics
When it comes to assessing players, average numbers are typically more relevant. For example, if a player typically scores 20 points per game and has played a total of 10 games during the season that would result in 200 points in total. Meanwhile, a player that scored 25 on average in a total of 7 games would have contributed 175 points to the team.
The inclusion of the player that scored 25 points on average may be considered more relevant when determining the odds of winning the match than comparing their totals. This applies to most metrics including rebounds, fouls, 3-point shots, and blocks.
The positions that certain players will occupy in the field are also relevant as they may affect their performance during the game. A player that is more effective playing in the offence might see his ability to score points affected if he suddenly has to play defense due to the unexpected absence of another player.
Even though defence is important, the performance of the team’s offence is typically considered more relevant as it points to the team’s capacity to win the match. After all, games are not won by preventing the other team from scoring, they are mostly won by just scoring more.
#4 – Don’t discard non-favourites right away
Anything can happen in sports. In some cases, the least favourite team – the one that has the lowest odds to win – can turn around things during the game and placing a bet for the underdog can pay handsomely as the payout ratio is higher.
Even though it is usually not a good idea to go against the odds, if you feel comfortable after your due diligence and you feel you have perceived something that the market may have missed you should go with your gut. No result is set in stone and no team is unbeatable.