Tweet
Maybe it’s the Suns winning 39 of their first 50 games, or the Lakers barely being above .500 or a number of surprising Eastern Conference teams, but bookmakers are enjoying a strong NBA season so far.
“We’ve been pretty happy with basketball,” said Mike Seba, senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. “It has been good the whole year.”
That’s been the story, too, for offshore bookmakers as we approach the All-Star break.
“The NBA has been a tough sport for us the last couple of years, but we’ve been doing well since November,” said Stuart Doyle, wagering director for BetWWTS.com. “This season has been quite good, particularly last month.”
Aside from the Spurs having another big year, the season has been far more quirky than usual. That’s thrown bettors a curve. The Wizards and Cavaliers were a combined 19 games above .500 going into Friday, while the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Jazz were a combined 24 games below .500.
“A couple of teams like the Suns and Sonics emerged this year and the public didn’t get a grasp of them as quickly as they would have in previous years with teams like the Lakers and Kings,” Doyle said in explaining the book’s good season so far. “The West seems more open now.”
Las Vegas hotels always draw a lot of Lakers money from their many Southern California tourists. But the Lakers have been struggling having dealt Shaquille O’Neal and with Kobe Bryant injured. Their chemistry is a mess and they don’t have a permanent coach yet. The Kings, another popular West Coast team, have slipped, too. The Kings had covered just 22 of their first 46 games.
So the public has had to find a new favorite team they can trust. They haven’t gotten any help from the East. The Heat has the best record in the Eastern Conference and is the residing marquee team with Shaq and Dwayne Wade, but they are just 23-24-3 against the spread. The defending world champion Pistons have been coming on, but are still 22-25-1 against the spread, while the Pacers are 19-26-3 against the number.
It’s taken people a while to get the nerve to lay points with the Bulls, Cavaliers and Wizards in this post Michael Jordan-era. The books also have been helped by bad teams covering the spread. The Hornets, Bobcats and Knicks, for instance, were a combined seven games above the spread heading into the weekend, even though won-lost-wise they were a collective 68 games under .500. The Hornets and Bobcats are not exactly popular parlay choices.
“It has been a lot less predictable this year,” Doyle said. “It almost makes it a more interesting sport to watch.”
Seba said oddsmakers haven’t been doing anything different this year setting NBA sides and totals. He said they’ve had problems getting a grasp on some teams, too.
“New Jersey has been tough to make numbers on,” Seba said. “They had (Jason) Kidd out early, then (Richard) Jefferson went out and now (Vince) Carter is making an impact. The Jazz started out well, but then went into the tank when (Andrei) Kirilenko went out. Now he’s back.”
The linesmaker has to deal with a number of non-competitive teams like the Warriors, Hornets, Hawks and Bobcats. It takes plenty of shading to get the public to back any of those teams. There’s also the injury factor. Allen Iverson has been this year’s Steve Francis, where you never can be sure if he’s going to play or not. He’s almost a constant game-time decision. Obviously you can’t make a good number on the 76ers if you don’t know Iverson’s status. Bookmakers have no excuse, though, to hold off making numbers on the Pacers if Jamal Tinsley is questionable or the Hornets if Lee Nailon isn’t 100 percent.
Around this time of year betting on basketball begins to increase.
“Now that football is over and there’s no hockey it should really pick up,” Imperial Palace Hotel sports book manager Rich Dressler said about basketball wagering.
Bookmakers had an average-to-down NFL regular season, but came up big in the Super Bowl. So far they’re having a nice NBA regular season. Perhaps it will be the opposite of football where bettors might then do well in the playoffs. We’ll see.
“We’ve been pretty happy with basketball,” said Mike Seba, senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. “It has been good the whole year.”
That’s been the story, too, for offshore bookmakers as we approach the All-Star break.
“The NBA has been a tough sport for us the last couple of years, but we’ve been doing well since November,” said Stuart Doyle, wagering director for BetWWTS.com. “This season has been quite good, particularly last month.”
Aside from the Spurs having another big year, the season has been far more quirky than usual. That’s thrown bettors a curve. The Wizards and Cavaliers were a combined 19 games above .500 going into Friday, while the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Jazz were a combined 24 games below .500.
“A couple of teams like the Suns and Sonics emerged this year and the public didn’t get a grasp of them as quickly as they would have in previous years with teams like the Lakers and Kings,” Doyle said in explaining the book’s good season so far. “The West seems more open now.”
Las Vegas hotels always draw a lot of Lakers money from their many Southern California tourists. But the Lakers have been struggling having dealt Shaquille O’Neal and with Kobe Bryant injured. Their chemistry is a mess and they don’t have a permanent coach yet. The Kings, another popular West Coast team, have slipped, too. The Kings had covered just 22 of their first 46 games.
So the public has had to find a new favorite team they can trust. They haven’t gotten any help from the East. The Heat has the best record in the Eastern Conference and is the residing marquee team with Shaq and Dwayne Wade, but they are just 23-24-3 against the spread. The defending world champion Pistons have been coming on, but are still 22-25-1 against the spread, while the Pacers are 19-26-3 against the number.
It’s taken people a while to get the nerve to lay points with the Bulls, Cavaliers and Wizards in this post Michael Jordan-era. The books also have been helped by bad teams covering the spread. The Hornets, Bobcats and Knicks, for instance, were a combined seven games above the spread heading into the weekend, even though won-lost-wise they were a collective 68 games under .500. The Hornets and Bobcats are not exactly popular parlay choices.
“It has been a lot less predictable this year,” Doyle said. “It almost makes it a more interesting sport to watch.”
Seba said oddsmakers haven’t been doing anything different this year setting NBA sides and totals. He said they’ve had problems getting a grasp on some teams, too.
“New Jersey has been tough to make numbers on,” Seba said. “They had (Jason) Kidd out early, then (Richard) Jefferson went out and now (Vince) Carter is making an impact. The Jazz started out well, but then went into the tank when (Andrei) Kirilenko went out. Now he’s back.”
The linesmaker has to deal with a number of non-competitive teams like the Warriors, Hornets, Hawks and Bobcats. It takes plenty of shading to get the public to back any of those teams. There’s also the injury factor. Allen Iverson has been this year’s Steve Francis, where you never can be sure if he’s going to play or not. He’s almost a constant game-time decision. Obviously you can’t make a good number on the 76ers if you don’t know Iverson’s status. Bookmakers have no excuse, though, to hold off making numbers on the Pacers if Jamal Tinsley is questionable or the Hornets if Lee Nailon isn’t 100 percent.
Around this time of year betting on basketball begins to increase.
“Now that football is over and there’s no hockey it should really pick up,” Imperial Palace Hotel sports book manager Rich Dressler said about basketball wagering.
Bookmakers had an average-to-down NFL regular season, but came up big in the Super Bowl. So far they’re having a nice NBA regular season. Perhaps it will be the opposite of football where bettors might then do well in the playoffs. We’ll see.
Comment