As the 2022-23 NBA regular season winds down, it’s time to start thinking about your NBA betting in the postseason. There’s the play-in tournament, used to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference, and then there are the four rounds of best-of-seven series that will lead to the crowning of a champion. The play-in tournament features the seventh through tenth-place teams in each conference. The seventh- and eighth-place teams square off, with the winner securing the seventh seed. The ninth- and tenth-place teams also square off, and the winner plays the loser of the seventh- and eighth-place teams. The winner of this game gets the eighth seed. Looking to the postseason, don’t miss these wagering tips.
NBA Playoffs: Betting Tips
You can bet on the NBA playoffs in a number of ways, and each method has its own way for you to profit. A futures wager is a bet you place today on something that will happen at some point in the future. You can put down money right now on a team to win the Eastern or Western Conference, and you can also pick the winner of the NBA Championship. These futures wagers opened right after the end of the playoffs last year, and the odds are updated daily.
You can also bet on each round of the playoffs, picking the winner, and you can also place a wager on the number of games the series will last. Here’s an example:
Western Conference Quarterfinals: Denver Nuggets vs L.A. Lakers
Nuggets win series:
- 4-0 +600
- 4-1 +500
- 4-2 +300
- 4-3 +120
Lakers win series:
- 4-0 +3000
- 4-1 +1500
- 4-2 +800
- 4-3 +300
Selecting the winner of each series and selecting the exact number of games the series will last makes the wagering a bit tougher, which is why the odds are higher than they would be simply for picking the series winner irrespective of the duration of the series.
You can also place individual game wagers. You can do this in three ways: betting the moneyline, betting the point spread and betting the point total. With the money line, you pick the outright winner. There is no point spread; instead, the favorite will pay less than the underdog.
Example: Dallas Mavericks +200 / Philadelphia 76ers -180
You would place a $100 bet on Dallas to win $200. If you want to pick Philadelphia, you would have to bet $180 to win $100. On the point spread, you would choose one team, either giving or taking points.
Example: Dallas Mavericks +7.5 / Philadelphia 76ers -7.5
If you choose Philadelphia, they would have to win by at least eight points for you to win. Dallas would have to win or lose by no more than seven points to cover their side of the bet. On the point total, you wager on whether the final score will total more or fewer points than the set total.
Example: Dallas Mavericks vs Philadelphia 76ers, O/U (over/under) 230.5
If the combined score for the two teams is 230 points or fewer, the “under” wins. If it is 231 points or more, the “over” wins. So if Dallas wins, 116-113, the “under” would pay.
The futures wagers offer higher odds, but there is also more uncertainty. A team can look terrific during the regular season but then crash and burn in the postseason. Consider how the Phoenix Suns played dominant basketball throughout the regular season and the first round of the postseason before getting absolutely thrashed on their home floor by the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the West semifinals last year.
The moneyline bets are probably the easiest to win, but you won’t get much value if you just pick favorites every time. Look at each point spread or moneyline, and do the research as far as injuries, shooting and intangibles associated with the prior game. This will help you maximize your profits.
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