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Betting Guide
The NBA is a crazy league, especially when it comes to travel. Teams play back-to-back, often getting into the town they land in at two or three in the morning. That can often lead to weird results, especially early in the game. One betting option I like to take advantage when it comes to these types of games is the NBA 1st Quarters.
The first quarter is not the whole game, but it is predictive. A lot of first quarters can be high scoring due to the “feeling out process” that each team goes through. A lot games can see the road team come out sluggish due to travel and that can be profitable as well. There are a lot of different options when it comes to first quarter betting and that’s where this article comes in.
In this article we are going to cover NBA First Quarter betting. How to bet them, where to bet them, what they are and our strategy for betting on them.
Where To Bet NBA First Quarters:
America: Bovada is one of the best places online to bet on the NBA and all other forms of basketball. Their sportsbook offers first quarter plays on each game of the NBA season as well as the playoffs. They offer a ton of other betting options when it comes to the NBA including betting on each quarter, halves, player props, and futures.
Canada: One of the best places to bet the NBA online is Sports Interaction. They offer a wide variety of betting options on every NBA game of the season including first quarter plays, player props, alternate point spreads, and more.
Everywhere Else: 888 offer first quarter lines as well with quite a few options including alternate lines. This is one of the best sportsbooks online and they offer a ridiculous amount of game props and player props for each game as well.
What are NBA First Quarters?
NBA First Quarters are a series of bets on the first quarter of an NBA and for the first quarter only. You can bet the following on NBA First Quarters:
Spreads: Each first quarter will have a spread that is a fraction of the game spread. For example, if the Rockets are a -4 favorie for the game they might be a -1 favorite for the first quarter. This is probably the most common type of first quarter betting.
Totals: An over/under will also be set on the first quarter. Similar to the game spread, there will be a total set on the first quarter that is a fraction of the game. A game with a total of 210 may have a 52.5 over/under for the first quarter. These can be tricky to bet, but they can also be a lot of fun if you are betting the right ones.
Team Totals: Exactly like above, but just for one team. Think Rockets over/under 25.5 points.
Moneylines: Odds set on the first quarter with odds skewed towards the favorite. Typically, this will be the same as the moneyline odds on the game itself.
Common NBA First Quarter Questions:
How does a team’s first quarter stats relate to their overal record?
A study by 82games on the 2005-2006 season showed that the first quarter had the highest correlation to winning percentage of all the quarters. Teams with a great winning percentage had an 86 winning percentage in the first quarter.
As far as individual games, winning the first quarter meant wins 37 percent of the time, the highest outside of the 3rd quarter at .40. It’s not perfect, but the first quarter can be more predictive than almost any other when it comes to game winner. However, when you look at net points per quarter to overall winning percentage you see that the first quarter has a 85% correlation.
Of course, this is just one season and a small sample size, but the first quarter seems to be one of (if not the most) predictive quarter.
What is the highest scoring first quarter in NBA history?
The 2019 Golden State Warriors set this record in 2019 when they scored 51 points in the first quarter in a game against the Nuggets. This set the record for points in the first quarter by any team in the shot clock era. The Warriors made 10 out of 14 3-pointers in the period, which was set their own franchise record for a single quarter.
How To Bet NBA First Quarters:
The NBA First Quarter lines can be find in the same way at every site we’ve listed here. Simply scroll to the basketball section where they day’s games are listed. Find the game you are interested in and click the “+” with a number next to it. Here you will find first quarters as well as first half betting options. The first quarter saw the Warriors big three of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson combine for 42 points.
Five teams had scored 50 points in an NBA regular-season first quarter dating back to 1982, but Golden State was the first to hit 51.
NBA First Quarters Betting Strategy:
As I mentioned in the preview, a good option for betting NBA First Quarters is to cover travel. A team on a back-to-back or a three games in four night stretch is more likely to struggle in the first quarter and that can be a great time to bet the home team.
In the playoffs, I love betting the first quarter for the lower seed playing their first home game in the series. This is usually the time where they are on their best game and the crowd is fully behind them. It can be a great betting option.
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