Wednesday's NBA betting tips: Back the Suns as high-scoring Knicks regress

The Cavaliers lost their first game last night, losing 120-117 to the Celtics to drop to 15-1.

Still, that was enough to cover the spread, with little doubt in our minds it would go down to the wire.

We're back at it with another underdog this evening as the New York Knicks visit the Phoenix Suns.

If you're unsure about the markets quoted, refer to our handy little NBA betting guide below.

Odds correct at Planet Sport Bet at the time of writing. Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

 

Wednesday's NBA tips

Phoenix Suns +5.5

 

New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns (0300 GMT, Thurs)

We have no problem with the Knicks travelling to Phoenix as a strong favourite. The Suns are struggling without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, losing their last four matches.

That said, it's not like they've got nothing left to offer. Devin Booker is good enough to keep the Suns in games at his best, and there's still a supporting cast that can help make a game competitive.

He had a poor night in the 109-99 loss to the Magic, scoring just 17 points. But that came on the back of a 44-point explosion to keep it close against the Timberwolves.

Josef Nurkic could return this evening to provide a little muscle in the paint at either end.

The Knicks are 8-6 on the season and 5-4 through their last nine matches, losing to the short-handed Hawks, the Pacers, the Rockets and the Bulls.

They did beat the Wizards by a sizeable margin last time out, but that plays nicely into a profitable system.

Teams that scored 134 or more points in their last game have covered the spread just 43% of the time in the following contest.

 

 

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NBA Betting FAQs

Betting on the moneyline

The moneyline is a two-way market which requires you to bet on Team A or Team B to win the match and also includes any overtime periods.

If the game is level after four quarters, the teams will continue to play five-minute overtime periods until a winner is found.

 

How does NBA point-spread betting work?

The NBA point spread works in the same way as the point spread in other US sports, such as American Football, or the Asian handicap in soccer.

As well as pricing up the likely winner of a match, bookmakers will attempt to guess how many points the favourite is expected to win by.

For example, the Boston Celtics may be -5 against the New York Knicks, which means they need to win by six or more for you to win.

If you chose to bet on the New York Knicks +5, then think of it as having a five-point headstart. If New York loses by four or fewer, or even wins, you also win.

If the Celtics were to win by exactly five, bettors on both sides would be refunded.

 

Why bet on the NBA point spread?

The biggest advantage is a better payout. Unless you’re betting on the underdog, then betting on NBA favourites is hard to make money from.

The bookmakers are pretty good at knowing which team will win a game, leading to regular prices as small as 1/10 on strong home favourites.

With point spread betting, you’ll always get a price of around 9/10, meaning you need to win around 53% of bets to remain profitable.

 

How does NBA total betting work?

A typical NBA game will see both teams score 100 or more points. There are exceptions, as some defences are better than others, and teams have off nights.

Lots of factors influence the game, such as offence, defence, style and the pace of team play at.

But typically, teams score between 105 and 120 points per game. Bookmakers will pick a number they think each team is likely to score and that produces the total.

The total refers to the combined number of points both teams have scored at full-time, including overtime.

If the Lakers and the Clippers meet and the bookmakers set the total at 220, and the Clippers win 115-106, that’s a total of 221 points scored, so it’s gone over the total.

 

Can I combine NBA bets into an acca?

You can place doubles, trebles and accumulators when betting on the NBA.

A popular method of betting is taking the moneyline, or a reduced point spread, e.g. -2 instead of -5, to reduce the risk.

You’re still able to produce a worthwhile payout by combining multiple games.

 

Alternative point spreads and alternative total

As touched on above, you can bet on alternative point spreads and totals. That means if the bookmakers make the Celtics a -5 favourite and set the total at 221, you can still bet other numbers, such as -3 or over 218.

You may opt to back the Celtics -1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7 and so on. Your odds will decrease the further you drop and increase the higher you go.

The same theory is applied to total betting. If a total is set at 221, you’ll typically have the option to bet any number from 211 to 231.

 

Prop betting

Prop betting involves betting on a specific outcome to occur within a match, typically in player-based markets like points scored.

It doesn’t matter who wins or how many points there are. For example, you can bet on LeBron James to score 25 or more points, or Anthony Davis to rebound the ball 5+ times.

Some bookmakers will allow you to combine different outcomes such as points scored, rebounds, blocks, assists, turnovers, steals and three-point shots made.

 

How we pick our NBA tips

The Planet Sport team has extensive experience in the sports betting industry, including over a decade's worth of experience betting on the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.

Each week, our expert runs the rules over the week's fixtures and uses their systems, plus some tried and tested situations that have stood the test of time, to find mistakes in lines and identify the best NFL picks.