NBA Betting And Public Perception Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

NBA betting over the years has seen the Los Angeles Lakers as the biggest public team.  They are oftentimes overvalued because of their popularity.  The Lakers have been such a public team because of stars like Kobe Bryant.  Sports bettors have been betting them, regardless of the line, for many years.   You have Kobe with the Lakers, DeWayne Wade with the Heat, Dirk Nowitzki with Dallas and even Tim Duncan with the Spurs.  The Cavaliers are also becoming a  public team with LeBron James, and his performance in the 2008 All Star game should really make the Calaliers a public team.  In the NBA often it is all public perception, and the NBA betting lines will reflect that fact.

Another thing to remember about betting games involving NBA team that are considered marquee teams is line value.  The NBA betting oddsmaker also knows that teams like the Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, and Suns are popular and even though they may not want to, they have to shade those teams a little bit because of the superstar factor.  If you are going to wager on a marquee team you must be very sure of your situation.  You know that the NBA betting value is not going to be with you.  It doesn’t mean a marquee team can’t cover the NBA betting spread; they can, but it means you really have to do extra handicapping if you want to win money on those teams.  Picking the right situations when you bet on marquee teams is critical.