Basketball Betting Strategies: Three Tips for NBA Bettors
It’s easy to find a new basketball betting strategy these days – but finding the right one for you is the tricky part. NBA betting covers a lot of outcomes. You can get odds on everything from the match result and score, to player specials and everything in between.
Most basketball betting fans already have their go-to picks lined up before a game. Some will stick to the moneyline (otherwise known as the match result) while others will dig into the stats and play the points totals.
No matter your preference, it’s always worth looking at what you can do to diversify your options. After all, you might be missing a trick when betting on basketball.
And this is where Paddy’s here to help. There are scores of diverse basketball odds available at Paddy Power, so it makes sense to look at your wider options and perhaps find a new strategy that works for you.
Below are three basketball betting strategies that are easy to follow and deploy throughout the season.
Best Basketball Betting Strategies
Before we look at each basketball betting strategy, it’s worth remembering that you can get regular basketball stats and live updates at Paddy Power. Simply head to our basketball odds page and you’ll see updated stats, scores and markets whenever you click on a game.
Now let’s look at three strategies you could consider deploying in the NBA:
Play The Handicap
This is a simple one that is used all over the basketball betting community. Handicap betting in the NBA is perhaps the easiest strategy out there. The idea is to balance out the odds and get better value on the final score, compared to simply backing a team to win or lose.
Why do people bet the handicap in basketball? Because games are usually predictable. If you know the high-flying Clippers are going to beat the under-performing Nets then there’s no value in backing Los Angeles to win. Instead, you back them to win with a negative handicap on the final score.
For example, you back the Clippers to win with a -5.5 handicap at odds of 1.95 – an increase of 1.4 on a straight-up bet to win. So long as the Clippers win by six points or more, you win your bet.
Handicaps in basketball betting are the best place to start if you’re new to strategies. They get you thinking about value without being overly complicated.
Trust Player Performance Doubles
Basketball betting can be as simple or as complicated as you like. A good middle ground if you’re starting to dig into the detail a little more is to look at the doubles markets. Here, you bet on two outcomes to occur during a match.
For many punters, the first step is Player Performance Doubles. You can back a player to score a minimum number of points and their team to win. It’s ideal when betting on the favourite and an in-form player, as the strategy is fairly reliable.
For example, you could bet on Coby White to score 20+ points and the Bulls to beat Cleveland. Chicago are the underdogs but you know if they stand any chance of beating Cleveland then White will have to be on top form.
Logic dictates, then, that you may as well back this market as it carries more value than a straight-up bet on the Bulls.
Look At Rebounds
Points are the only thing to bet on in basketball. A big strategy many experienced punters deploy is to forget about the points and look at rebounds. Back a player to nail between 4+ and 12+ rebounds at Paddy Power during the course of a game.
Rebounds are awarded when a player is first to a missed shot – be they be on the offensive or defensive team.
Your strategy could start low before increasing as you get better at your predictions. Perhaps you back Josh Giddey at a slim 1.30 to nail 4+ rebounds in a game. That’s very likely, but then your next bet could focus on 6+ rebounds, then 8+ rebounds.
Eventually you’ll find the level you feel comfortable with and learn the players who are most reliable at that level.
