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Successful sports bettors make adjustments as situations change but the second half of the NBA season can present unique challenges and below, we discuss strategies to overcome them.
Trade Deadline Moves
Trades are part and parcel of all professional sports and the NBA is no exception. Keeping an eye on the big deals is easy. They steal the splashy headlines and if you bet the NBA on a regular, or even casual, basis then you know a deal like James Harden moving from Brooklyn to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons will make the 76ers an immediate championship contender while Simmons effect on the Nets is less certain.
But some of the smaller deals can also change a team’s chemistry on and off the court like Daniel Theis to the Celtics who played the first three seasons of his career with Boston. The Green also acquired point guard, Derrick White, a move intended to provide elite defense off the bench and a player who can distribute the ball effectively in transition.
Many of the trade deadline moves will not only change the fortunes of the teams that were involved in these swaps but the NBA odds will be affected as well. Those who don’t follow the league carefully may be unaware that such deals were made and may predicate their wagers on what was – and not what is.
Give these deals a chance to settle and evaluate how the new additions have helped or hindered their new clubs. Watch the games or review the box scores to see how the new blood has integrated into their fresh environments before you begin betting in the second half of the season. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did.
Contenders and Pretenders
The NBA season is a long, perilous grind full of highs and lows. But in the end, the cream usually rises to the top and the best of the best are left standing for the postseason. But as teams get mathematically eliminated, their incentive for winning games will be usurped by their coaches’ curiosity to find out what kind of talent he has at the end of the bench. And that’s when the fun begins if you are paying attention.
Getting a chance for significant minutes in an NBA game is a golden opportunity to showcase a bench player’s skills and we often find that they play harder than their starting teammates. But that doesn’t usually translate into better production. As much as we love an underdog story,
these players ride the pine for a reason so make sure to understand what’s at stake for each team as the season winds down. A club jockeying for playoff positioning is more likely to be giving a solid effort which means taking no team for granted, including those that are hopelessly out of the playoff race.
Choose Your Sportsbooks Wisely
The NBA lines you find in the second half of the season can deviate more drastically from one sportsbook to another because there are more late scratches, coaching changes, and a variety of issues that we don’t find as often in the first half of the season.
And with that, it is important to have accounts at multiple sportsbooks so that you can get the best number available. Why bet the Lakers -6 if you can find them at -4 ½ somewhere else? Getting the best line is the most essential tool of a successful NBA bettor.
Here at OddsTrader, we have a list of the best online sportsbooks available to our readers. These are the titans of the industry and not only have seamless mobile platforms that can be used when betting on the go but provide a myriad of betting options and limits to suit the recreational bettor or seasoned professional.
Make sure to have accounts at two, three, or more of these respected books because getting the best line or most attractive odds is the name of the game.
