The second round of the NBA Playoffs is underway and NBA betting odds are available for each of the four series. The quarterfinals in each conference are when the best teams start matching up against each other in basketball betting. How do you go about handicapping the second round of the NBA Playoffs?
NBA betting for the second round begins with the series prices. Each of the four series will have a price. That means you can immediately bet on a team to win the series and not worry about making another bet if you so choose. You can also use that series bet and hedge it as the series continues. You may want to bet individual games either to increase the profit on your series bet or to hedge against it. You can also pick and choose your spots in an NBA Playoffs series. There are going to be some must-win games as teams fall into 0-1 or, 0-2 and 1-2 holes. There may be a team that goes down 0-3 but you really don’t want to be betting on a team that has lost the first three games of series. That scenario is not that likely anyway since the series are normally competitive in the second round.
In an NBA Playoff series you can have the same two teams playing each other up to seven times in a row. Certain things are going to become clear as the series progresses. In the first couple of games there may be a feeling out process but by the third game you will be able to notice certain things that are likely to happen. That can help you in your NBA betting.
As you handicap the games in the second round it is always nice to get on a team that rebounds the ball. Look for teams that win the rebounding battle and you will likely find winners in basketball betting. The reason that rebounding becomes so important in the playoffs is that teams tighten up and play more half court offense so rebounds are critical.
The second round is when the weaker teams are normally gone. The 8th seeds will win once in a while but normally the top seeds survive and are still playing. The games in the second round usually are very competitive with a lot of #1 vs. # 4 and #2 vs. #3 matchups. All of the games are on television and it is much easier in this round to focus on each individual game.