ed welch
The NBA Playoffs are upon us, which means basketball bettors need to adjust their daily routine and start to look at postseason situations in a different light. The playoffs present some challenges not found in the regular schedule and these are some of the best expert sports betting picks to win easy money:
Zig-Zag?
Ah, the Zig-Zag theory. This was once a popular and profitable way to bet on the NBA Playoffs, with bettors playing on the team coming off a loss knowing they would be going all out not to fall behind further or have their season come to an abrupt stop.
Oddsmakers got wise to this practice and it hasn’t held much value in the past decade. Now, that’s not to say that there’s no value in the zig-zag – you just have to know what to look for.
Perhaps the best way to wager on this system is to play on teams coming off a blowout loss. Not only are those teams motivated to fight back but that one-sided result should throw a couple extra points on the spread for the team coming off an embarrassing defeat.
Depth
The NBA Playoffs are a grind, coming on a heels of a busy 82-game series and forcing teams into action more often and tossing a ton of travel on that pile. That can wear down teams during the postseason, so having reliable six, seven and eight men off the bench is key – especially when it comes to covering the spread.
Entering the playoffs, the Toronto Raptors have one the finest benches in the NBA. That not only gives Toronto the ability to rest starters without a letdown but head coach Dwayne Casey has options when one of his stars has an off day. Other playoff-bound teams with dependable benches include the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Star power
As much as role players help get teams deep into the playoffs, winning the big games often comes down to star players. And not just All-Stars. We’re talking elite level, future Hall of Fame talent.
A team like Toronto has two proven stars in DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but those guys have failed to get over the postseason hump. They fall to teams with at least one top-tier talent, like LeBron James and the Cavs or John Wall and the Wizards.
If it’s a do-or-die game and the spread is close (or you’re betting the moneyline), which they will be in the postseason, going with the team with the best player on the floor is often the right move. Just look at the teams that have won NBA titles in recent years: Golden State, Cleveland, San Antonio, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, or Boston. All backed by future Hall of Fame players that rose to the occasion.
On the ropes
One of the most impressive betting systems in the NBA Playoffs in recent years only happens in those situations when a team falls behind 0-2 in the series. The strategy involves betting on the trailing side in the first half of that third game, knowing that they will be doing anything and everything to avoid a 0-3 hole – at least for the first 24 minutes. Often times, these 0-2 teams are playing at home in the third game of the series.
This trend paid off heavily in the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs last year, and cooled off in the conference semifinals finishing with a 9-3 ATS record versus the first-half spread for the postseason. And this trend wasn’t just reserved to last year. The previous two postseasons, those NBA clubs down 0-2 went an amazing 19-0 ATS against the first-half spread in Game 3.
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