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Betting Guide
One of the best things about basketball in comparison to other sports is the point totals. Typical games end with each team scoring over 100 points while scoring 100 points in any of the other four major sports is seemingly impossible. No matter how bad your team might be, there is a good chance you are going to see them score 90+ which is definitely not the case in football, basketball or hockey when a bad team can easily get shut out.
This crosses itself over to gambling perfectly as NBA Over/Unders are one of the cornerstones of betting on basketball. In this article we are going to explain how over and unders work, what they mean, how to bet them and our best strategies for picking winning over/under bets.
Where To Bet NBA Over/Unders (Game Totals):
America: When looking to bet NBA Over/Unders, it’s hard to go wrong with Bovada. They post their lines early and you are able to buy extra points one way or the other if you need them.
Canada: Sports Interaction is one of the best options for betting NBA Over/Unders in Canada. They always have competitive lines and they allow you the option of buying points one way or the other if you are so inclined.
Everywhere Else: A great place to bet NBA Over/Unders is 888. The lines are posted early, you can buy extra points if needed and they offer betting on every game on the slate.
What are NBA Over/Unders (Game Totals)?
The NBA Over/Under is simply, the total points that two teams will score in any given game. This includes overtime or any amount of overtimes that are played, and is based off the final box score.
To use an example let’s say that the Chicago Bulls are playing the Indiana Pacers. Both teams have decent offenses and the total is set at 208. If the final score is 105-104, those two numbers add up to 209 which would mean that the bet went over. If you score was 105-100, 205 and under. The total is set for each game and you have to choose if think the game will go OVER, meaning both teams combine to score more than that number, or UNDER, meaning both teams combine to scoree less than that number. In this example, a PUSH is possible if the score lands on exactly 208.
We are talking about game total NBA Over/Unders here, but there are many additional ways that you can bet on NBA Over/Unders including by the half, by the quarter or by the individual teams.
Common NBA Over/Unders Questions:
How are NBA Over/Unders set?
The bookmakers are aiming to get you a number that is most likely to entice you to bet on one side, but also one that could be close to what the final score is. They will do this by using statistics like points per game, points allowed per game, offensive rating, defensive rating and a myriad of others.
A great example would be a game that took place in the 2017 season. The Atlanta Hawks were playing at the Toronto Raptors and the total was set at 216. A quick look at the Offensive Ratings of each team show the Raptors at 109.9 and the Hawks at 104.4. That adds up to 214.4 so as you can see it doesn’t deviate too much from what the numbers say it might be.
How to Bet NBA Over/Unders (Game Totals):
Bovada: In the sportsbook section of the site, click on “Basketball” and it will display all basketball games for that day with NBA at the top. There’s also a drop down and you can click on that and choose “NBA” and it will just show NBA. The game totals will be listed there for each game.
Sports Interaction: In the left sidebar click “Basketball” to expand that section then click “NBA” and all the NBA games will be listed with the point spreads and over/unders.
888: Either do a search for “NBA” or just click “NBA on the left sidebar and the games for that day will be listed with the game totals listed under “Total Points”.
NBA Over/Unders Betting Strategy:
The way to go at betting NBA Over/Unders is to pick a category and attack it. You have to assume that most of these totals are right in line with the Offensive/Defensive numbers, but that is worth a check anyways. After that you should pick a stat and dive into it.
One stat that is intersting to look at is three point shooting percentage. If you have one team that shoots them pretty well playing a team that allows a high percentage, that could be a great game to bet the over on.
Additionally, PACE and Offensive/Defense Rating are good. For instance, a team like the Grizzlies plays at a really slow pace and if they are playing a team with a strong Defensive Rating that could lead to a slow, low scoring game.
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