The NBA finals are right around the corner, and right now, the remaining teams are duking it out in the conference semifinals. If you want in on the fun of it all, this is the best time to do so.
For example, two popular teams, the LA Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, are battling to emerge victorious in the semifinals. And, of course, as exciting as seeing these two great teams playing against each other, the betting opportunities are also stellar. Perhaps most bookies are focusing on these two teams right now since they are the hottest matchup in the semifinals.
And for you, as a bettor, this is the best chance you’ll get in the semifinals since most of the money is here. But before you go ahead and bet, we have some tips for you today. Here are some of them.
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Make a Bankroll Management Plan
If you want to stay alive and bet during the semifinals, then having a bankroll management plan would let you do so. How you keep tabs on your money depends on you, of course, but if you want to be more efficient in managing your money, creating a bankroll management plan will be a good decision.
A bankroll management plan is for you to avoid hemorrhaging money out of your pockets every time you bet. Usually, experts only use the standard procedure to bet 5-10% of your entire bankroll in a single game. So, for example, if you have $100 in your bankroll, you should only bet $5-$10 in each game you want to bet in. This way, it will be more manageable to avoid overspending your bankroll.
Always Be on the Lookout for Injury and Rest Schedules
Basketball is a contact sport. That means it involves a lot of physicality, making the sport prone to injuries. That said, injuries happen constantly and in the most unexpected times too. It can even happen to your favorite player rendering them useless for the time being and forcing the coach to let them sit out a game or two.
Of course, this can mess up a lot of lines in bookies. For example, one moment, the odds are in favor of the LA Lakers, then in the next, the line will shift towards the Warriors because one key player in the LA Lakers has gone injured. The gist is that you should always be updated on what’s happening outside of the games, especially regarding injuries.
Look Out for the Underdogs
Upsets happen a lot of the time. For example, in this conference semifinals, most games are favored by the LA Lakers, making the Warriors become the underdogs. However, the latest standing is 3-2 in favor of the Lakers.
Sure, the Lakers have the advantage, but it means that two of their games are lost, and you can assume that during that time, the Warriors are the underdogs. Now, what does this mean? This means those who bet on the Warriors won a lot since underdogs have a good payout in games.
Also, in spread betting, the favorites are usually only trusted to cover the spread and not outright win, especially when they have an injured key player. And when they lose, the spread betting bets wouldn’t likely win the game since they have covered the spread, but those who bet on the underdog likely got a huge payout on the money line.
Place Your Bets Early
There are several advantages to why you should place your bets early. First, you can use more favorable odds before the line shifts as the game progresses. And second, you’ll be locking favorable odds before an injury report happens or a player not being able to play for the game. Usually, the trends don’t come in very early in the game, so locking your bets even before the game starts is a good way to lock in favorable odds early on.
Line Shopping
We can’t emphasize this enough, but line shopping is important to maximize your bets. With line shopping, you can see different odds in different bookies, meaning you can earn more by placing different bets with more value than your original one.
Sure, the difference might only be a dollar or two, but a dollar or two for a long time can stack up to hundreds. In short, if you want to bet on the NBA finalists or try your luck on the semifinals, line shopping is an efficient way of getting a bigger payout than what you expect.
Final Words
The NBA Finals are right around the corner, but right now, the semi finals are in full swing, which means the competitions will be much more intense because the teams are giving it their all to step on the finals stage. Of course, there’s a lot of money to make during this time, and you can do the same if you follow the tips we discussed above.