Travel, more than the home court, is the key factor in NBA betting

With the exception of talent, when it comes to betting on the NBA, the most important factor to consider is the home court, right?

Well not exactly.

Actually, there is not much difference in court. They’re all made of wood, and while the court logos are of different colors, designs, and questionable taste, they all have a 10-foot basket at each end. Supposedly, there is some advantage to “knowing the hoops,” but since metal comes into play mostly on missed shots and no one deliberately tries to miss, it’s hard to see where the advantage lies. Yes, we know from a rudimentary 10th grade physics course that longer shots produce longer rebounds, but the direction of the carom is based more on the trajectory of the shot than the condition of the rims.

Another supposed advantage of the home court is the home crowd. But it’s hard to accept the notion that professionals, who are reluctant to sign autographs unless paid, are motivated by the very people they so willingly avoid. Besides, what did all that Spike Lee raving and raving at Madison Square Garden do for New York? Reggie Miller still did the right thing for the Pacers and destroyed the Knicks.

The final supposed advantage of playing at home is that players get some sort of “comfort level” from sleeping in their own beds. Excuse me, but weren’t you paying attention to the Gold Club trial in Atlanta a few years ago? Based on the evidence, it seems that many players would easily forgo a night under their own satin sheets if an, ahem, “dancer” was available for company.

That said, playing at home does have an advantage, but it has little to do with the court, the fans, or the sleeping conditions. It has everything to do with getting to the court.

Plain and simple, away teams have the biggest travel disadvantage, a factor we mentioned but didn’t fully explore in a previous article. In fact, how far a team has to travel, how many time zones it crosses, the direction it travels, and how many games it is forced to play in a given number of nights are all crucial elements in both NBA and NBA odds. NBA betting.

Remember how tired and out of sync you were after a flight across the Atlantic? Now try running six miles (the average distance a basketball player runs in a game) at a different location three out of four or four out of six nights and see how it affects your athletic performance. NBA betting professionals understand that no team can be “ready” for every game, that fatigue can become a major factor, and that point spreads often grow in proportion to the length of a road trip. .

It is also worth noting that it is more difficult for the body to travel against the sun, or from west to east, than to travel from east to west. Thus, NBA teams based in the Western and Rocky Mountain time zones are often more disadvantaged by long road trips than teams in the Eastern and Central time zones. One way to overcome this handicap is to fly east to start the road trip, then head back west.

NBA betting experts and bookmakers not only take into account the travel of the visiting team, but also look at whether the home team has been parked in familiar confines for a period of time or has just returned from a long journey.

Often overlooked by the casual gambler, savvy punters understand that it’s always important to check the calendar.

Interestingly, despite playing 82 home games to earn an additional home playoff date in one series, home court means less in the playoffs than it does during the regular season. Typically, that’s because teams in a postseason series have similar travel itineraries. For example, if San Antonio and Sacramento are set to meet in a best-of-seven series that begins in Texas, once the Kings visit the Spurs for the opening two games of the series, the teams will have similar travel schedules, flying to Northern California within hours of each other. That will also be the case if a flight back to San Antonio is needed to finish the series. Uniform travel mitigates home court advantage.

Yes, talent counts in NBA betting, but cautious bettors also understand that it’s important to check those times before placing a bet.