BBL
Euroleague
NBA
NCAAB
WNCAAB
WNBA
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Chess
Entertainment
eSports
Fantasy
Football
Golf
Hockey
Horse Racing
MMA
Motor Sports
Olympics
Politics
Soccer
Table Tennis
Wrestling
Casino
Home
Betting Guide
So much of the NBA is coaching and substitutions. A solid bench unit can carry an average team to great results and a bad bench can sink a great team. This is most true in the regular season and that’s where coaching comes in. Finding the right combination of players and knowing when to bring them in is key. You can’t lose a game in the second quarter, but the moves that a coach makes can certainly pust them towards a win or a loss.
The second quarter is key to a game so of course you can bet on it. In watching a lot of NBA basketball you’ll see that some teams play far better in the second quarter than the first. Some stars just gel better with their bench units, some teams have a huge advantage with their bench unit and sometimes it’s just a better defensive squad.
I love betting NBA second quarters and in this article I am going to tell you how I do it. I’ll also share my own strategy for betting them and the best places to bet them.
Where To Bet NBA Second Quarters:
America: Bovada offers second quarter betting on every game of the NBA season. They offer a wide variety of options for betting on the quarters including moneylines, point spreads, totals, and more. In addition to the second quarter, you can also bet on all the other quarters of the game on every NBA game.
Canada: Bodog is one of the best sites for Canadians who love betting on the NBA and they have you covered when it comes to betting on quarters. Bets you can do on the second quarter include over/unders and point spreads.
Everywhere Else: 888 offers a variety of second quarter bets including 3-way bets which means you can also pick “draw” as opposed to one of the two teams. Betting a draw often pays extremely well because a tie is statistically unlikely, but when it pays – it pays big. There are also a number of other great betting options at 888 for the NBA.
What are NBA Second Quarter Bets?
The NBA Second Quarter bets are strictly on the second quarter of the game. The previous and following quarters don’t matter, only the second quarter. You can bet the following on NBA Second Quarters:
Totals: An over/under total on the amount of points scored by the teams combined or the individual teams. It doesn’t matter how many points were scored in any other quarter of this game, only what happens in the second quarter.
Spread: A point spread on the second quarter. For example, the Warriors might be -2.5 against the Rockets. If you bet the Warriors, the only way you can win is if the Warriors outscore the Rockets by three points or more in that quarter.
Moneyline: Picking a winner of the quarter. You might pay a premium for the favorite so the the Warriors might be -200 against the Rockets for the quarter. These can often be a great place to grab a favorite who is behind after a tough first quarter or an underdog that is playing strong.
3-Way Betting: Similar to a moneyline bet, you are simple picking a side. Only in this case you can also pick “draw”. So you can bet the Warriors, the Rockets, or draw. If the quarter ends in a tie, the draw bet wins. At a lot of sites a draw is a push so this really opens it up to more possibilities.
Common NBA Second Quarters Questions:
How are second quarter lines set?
There are a lot of factors that go into setting the line. While sometimes the line itself is just a fraction of the line for the whole game, we can also see other factors taken into account. How teams fare in the second quarter throughout the season is one and how the first quarter of the game went is another.
Some sportsbooks will offer a second quarter before the game while some will put it up/make adjustments to it as the first quarter ends. The good thing about this is you get to see the game play out. If you bet it before the game, you are basically betting blind. That said, betting blind gives you much better odds.
How To Bet NBA Second Quarters:
Most sportsbooks offer the 2nd quarter lines under the additional bets for the game. For a sportsbook like Bovada or Bodog will have a “+” with a number besides where you can find all the game props.
888 is similar in that they have a “+” sign with a number. You can also just clink on the match-up to find the odds.
NBA Second Quarter Betting Strategy:
I think the second quarter has some of the most consistent team statistics of any quarter. The substitution patterns are pretty solid for the first half of the game. Looking at +/- and defensive statistics can often lead to a great betting situation in the second quarter. Especially for books who only do a fraction of the game’s spread to bet.
Where To Bet NBA Guides
Where To Bet NBA Player Props
Where To Bet NBA Futures
Where To Bet NBA All Star Weekend
Where To Bet All Basketball Leagues
