Early NBA Restart Betting Trends
The NBA returned to action on July 30. The Los Angeles Lakers made an immediate statement by beating the rival LA Clippers 103-101. The Lakers remain favored to win this year’s NBA Championship at most online sportsbooks.
The Clippers are expected to be right in the mix as well. The Western Conference title should come down to a best-of-seven battle between the two LA teams. GTBETS online sportsbook has the Lakers set as +250 favorites to win the title. The Clippers are +300 second-favorites along with the Milwaukee Bucks, out of the Eastern Conference.
What Are Some Of The Early NBA Restart Betting Trends?
Things fall off a cliff from there. The Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors are listed next at +1600. The Boston Celtics are still in the mix at +1600.
The early betting results a week into the NBA restart point to some interesting trends. Through the first 31 games played in the NBA bubble, the favorite has gone 14-16-1 against the spread. This goes to show you just how sharp the professional Oddmakers really are. There is absolutely zero rust in those results.
Helpful Picks & Prediction For The Total Bettors That Bet The Over & Under
Betting the total line heavily favored the OVER in the first round of games. The Oddsmakers tightened up those betting lines as well. The total has gone OVER in 16 of 31 games with one PUSH.
Designated home teams in the bubble have won 18 of 31 games straight-up and they are 16-14-1 ATS. There is no real edge to be found in any of these early trends. NBA bettors need to look at the early betting results on a team by team basis.
Going back to the Lakers, they failed to cover in that win against the Clippers as four-point favorites. They went on to lose to Toronto and beat Utah both SU and ATS through three games. The total stayed UNDER in two of those three outings.
The Clippers beat New Orleans 126-103 in their next game as five-point favorites. This was followed by a stunning 117-115 loss to Phoenix as 8 ½-point favorites.
As mentioned, Milwaukee is another strong contender to win the season’s championship. The Bucks beat Boston 119-112 their first game back to cover the closing 3 ½-point spread. However, back-to-back losses to Houston and Brooklyn as favorites is one of the more shocking developments. The 119-116 loss to the Nets has to raise an early red flag. Milwaukee closed as a 19-point favorite at the top Sportsbooks.
Toronto has created some early momentum in defense of last year’s NBA title run. The Raptors are a perfect 2-0 both SU and ATS with victories against the Lakers and Miami. Locking down the No. 2 seed in the East is the next goal.
The remainder of the eight-game restart regular season schedule lasts until mid-August. The final seeding for the playoffs in each conference will be set. This is when the real fun begins. By then, the top contending teams will have shaken off all the rust. The only real drama yet to unfold is which LA team gets to play Milwaukee in the NBA Finals.
