The Do's and Don'ts of NBA betting
Sportsbooks don't receive the amount of wagers on the NBA as they do the NFL, but it's still the second-most popular league to bet.
With the season just days away, it's the perfect time for an NBA betting primer. Our full NBA betting guide previews the entire season from every angle.
Here, we'll provide advice to remember throughout the 82-game season that will set you up for success. All of these tips come back to one thing: research. You must follow the sport consistently and do ample amounts of research to really have a grasp on betting.
As always, bet responsibly.
Do research, bet early, and track injury updates
Unlike the NFL, the NBA is an everyday league, so staying on top of reports and injury news is a daily requirement for NBA bettors.
That starts with betting early. When lines open in the morning, sharp bettors immediately find their edges and force lines to shift based on their bets. If you like a certain spread or total and bet a game early, you may get value before the line adjusts. This is known as closing line value.
A star player's absence in a contest can majorly impact the spread. It's important to track injury updates throughout the day and see how the line shifts based on credible reports. Players rest now more than ever, and sometimes that isn't announced until a couple of hours before tip. As a bettor, check injury reports and see how lines move based on news.
The NBA is attempting to crack down on resting this season, but who knows how effective those rules will be. If a line seems fishy, check if a key player is out.
Track schedules. Tired legs are a real thing in the NBA. A team playing three games in four nights or eight in 12 days isn't going to have the same energy as it will after three days of rest.
Do live bet
Good bettors don't just place a wager pregame and call it quits for the day. There can be serious value in live-betting games, especially in the NBA.
That, of course, requires you to actually watch the contests. Whether you're locked into a Thursday slate on TNT or have the quad box going on League Pass on a Monday night, it's important to check the live betting odds constantly.
Basketball is a game of runs. No lead is ever safe in the NBA with scoring as prominent as ever.
Oddsmakers have adjusted by not overreacting to large leads. But there are still spots to make a profit. If the Nuggets trail by 15 in the second quarter of a game they were favored in, they'll likely be underdogs at that point. Depending on the spread, it may be wise to back the Nuggets.
The only way to really know is to tune in and evaluate the game flow to make a judgment. And with anything involving betting, do your research. If a team has been prolific in the third quarter all season and trails at halftime, that could also be the time for a live bet.
Or maybe a team is trailing, but the opponent's best player suffered an injury.
Real NBA aficionados should have a grasp on rotations. If a team brings in their second unit to start the second quarter and gives up a lead, it might be time to live bet before the starting unit returns.
Do look beyond totals and spreads
There's money to be made finding bets beyond just game spreads and over/unders. There will certainly be spots where you believe a side on the spread or total is the best bet.
But don't be a lazy bettor. Explore the various markets sportsbooks offer, including player props (points, rebounds, assists, 3-pointers made, and more), quarter lines, team totals, game props, and others.
I wouldn't recommend cooking up a long-shot same-game parlay every night - although the occasional, responsible wager on a parlay can be entertaining. However, there's a ton of value in searching through player props to find an edge on the market.
Oddsmakers don't adjust as quickly to player props as they do point spreads. If a certain big man has consistently hit their over on rebounds to start the season, that could be a worthy bet if sportsbooks haven't adjusted. Or perhaps a small forward has a particularly easy defensive matchup one night and, as a result, should be featured a ton in the offense.
Find bets on games that feature players, not just teams.
Don't blindly bet the "better" team
One of the reasons betting on the NBA can be a challenge is that portions of the regular season are meaningless. It's hard to expect players to bring their best stuff every game over a five-month regular season.
Often, better teams will lose because they didn't try hard enough that night. Maybe it was the end of a two-week road trip or the second leg of a back-to-back. Whatever the reason, good teams will lose to bad teams throughout the season. It's just the nature of the league.
Novice or casual bettors will sometimes see a team like the Celtics favored by just five over a club like the Pistons and blindly make a bet on the Celtics. That's exactly what not to do.
There's a reason the spread isn't as high as some would anticipate. It's your job as a bettor to find out why (following our daily content will give you a leg up).
This goes back to the earlier point about doing your research. Maybe there was an issue with the flight, and the Celtics got into Detroit early in the morning. Maybe Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both questionable and the oddsmakers, who are given information when sharp bettors place a wager, adjust before the news is available to the general public.
Just looking at a matchup and believing a team should cover the spread because it's better than its opponent is irresponsible and will result in more losses than wins.
Don't chase
With any form of gambling, it's important to never chase your losses. That starts with not betting above your means. Bad days, and even weeks, happen in sports betting. But so do good days. Never get too high on the highs or low on the lows, and most importantly, only bet what you can afford to lose.
If, and when, a bad day arrives, don't start chasing your losses by making wagers you're not confident in or by simply placing bets to try to make your money back. If you lose a bet on an East Coast game at 7:30 p.m., that shouldn't trigger you to keep betting on a West Coast matchup at 10:30 p.m.
The NBA is a long season, and betting on it is a journey. Let the ebbs and flows of the season play out, and if you're smart and prepared, you'll have a chance to profit at the season's end. Anyone chasing losses will assuredly be in the red.
Good luck and continue following our coverage all season!
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage