As most NBA bettors are aware, there is a lag between real time and cable/streaming. While the live number may look appealing in some circumstances, it’s important to remember that you could be upwards of a full minute behind the real time action. 

We recommend making live bets in between quarters, and at halftime. This will allow you to know exactly where the game stands in real time. Other stoppages, such as timeouts might be cutting it close depending on the extent of how far your cable is behind. You may get lucky every now and then on an in-game number where the lag works in your favor. Over the long run, that 60 seconds is a massive advantage for the sportsbooks. Do your best to minimize it. 

More often than not, teams will end up shooting relatively close to their season averages from three point range. If one team is shooting significantly below their season averages, or vise versa, these can be good opportunities to hop in with a live bet. The best opportunities are often in the 2nd and 3rd quarter to explore these metrics. This is when regression/progressions points tend to occur most frequently.

Example: It’s the mid 2nd quarter of a game. One team is shooting 70% from three point range, while the other is shooting 10%. Let’s take it a step further and say the team shooting 10% is the home team. It’s highly likely that the road team shooting 70% will regress toward their season averages, and the home team shooting 10% will progress toward their averages. This may present an ideal time to live bet the home team.

Most NBA teams run on rotations. Those rotations typically become more predictable throughout the course of the season. If you are aware of these rotations, you can often find extra value in the live betting numbers. 

Example: Let’s say the Jazz and Nuggets are playing, and the pregame spread is Lakers +7. You want to bet the Jazz +7, but you feel you might be able to get a better number if you wait to bet the game live. 

The game begins, and the Nuggets get out to a hot start in the first 8 minutes of the game. The original spread of +7 now sits at +12. By studying the teams rotations, maybe you happen to know that Nikola Jokic typically exits the game after about 8 minutes. Jokic exiting has a negative impact on the Nuggets ability to generate points. In addition to that, maybe you happen to know that the Jazz typically get an offensive boost from their first rotational switch. This scenario would be an opportunistic time for a live bet.

• Only live bet during stoppages, where you are fully aware of where the game is in real time. 

• Look for three point shooting discrepancies in quarters 2 and 3. Do your best to learn the impact of rotations.

• Look for the teams who are impacted least by their star players checking out.

Always bet responsibly!