Updated Betting Favorites, Darkhorses, and Underdogs in the NBA Playoffs

by WagerHome Blog on May 24, 2021

The NBA Championship won’t be decided for nearly two months, but this past weekend the eight first-round series began, giving us a first look at how teams are playing in the postseason. It also provides us with a chance to update where things stand when betting on the eventual winner of the NBA title.
Current Odds to Win NBA Championship

  • Nets (+200)
  • Lakers (+450)
  • Clippers (+700)
  • 76ers (+750)
  • Jazz (+800)
  • Bucks (+850)
  • Suns (+1400)
  • Mavericks (+3000)
  • Trail Blazers (+3500)
  • Nuggets (+4000)
  • Heat (+4000)
  • Hawks (+5000)
  • Grizzlies (+8000)
  • Knicks (+12500)
  • Celtics (+15000)
  • Wizards (+15000)

Sixteen teams still have a chance at winning the championship, but it’s the big three of the Brooklyn Nets that have the bookmaker’s attention. In the Nets’ first game with Boston, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden combined for 82 points, 27 rebounds, and 10 assists, and the Nets started their quest for the title with an 11-point win.

The Lakers are the next favorite, and they remain that way even after losing Game 1 to the Suns and after LeBron James left the game briefly with an injured shoulder. If the Lakers are to justify such high odds, Anthony Davis must play better. He made just 5 of 16 shots and finished with 13 points in a disappointing start for the defending champs.

The second betting favorite in the West and third overall is the other team from LA, the Clippers. And they are another team that got off to a rough start, getting outscored 18-5 over the final six minutes of their game with Dallas and losing by 10. Kawhi Leonard managed to score just three points in the fourth quarter.

The second team in the East is Philadelphia, who got things started against the Wizards with a win. Joel Embiid was his usual steady self, scoring 30 points in Game 1. However, the real story was Tobias Harris and his 37 points and what he might mean for the Sixers going forward.

Underdogs Worth Betting

If you’re looking for longer odds to play, the Blazers (+3500) should have your attention. They have the shooters to get past Denver and make some noise later in the playoffs.

The Hawks (+5000) have a true star in Trae Young, who scored 32 points and added 10 assists in Game 1 against the Knicks. He is good enough to put this team on his back and carry them through a couple of rounds of play.

The other No. 5 seed is Dallas (+3000), who is always a threat because of Luka Doncic. If the Mavs can get past the Clippers, and the Lakers and Suns continue to beat each other up, the West could open up for Doncic’s run.

Pay Per Head Software

Independent bookmakers taking NBA bets should be partnered with a pay per head software provider like WagerHome.com. To maximize your profits, you get a customizable website, automated odds, access to WagerHome.com’s huge menu of sports and betting options, plus EZ live betting.

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WagerHome BlogUpdated Betting Favorites, Darkhorses, and Underdogs in the NBA Playoffs

Pay Per Head Sports Wagering Preparing for Another Huge Boost

by WagerHome Blog on December 10, 2020

Pay per head sports wagering wasn’t quite what many bookmakers hoped for this fall. While we’ve had a few hiccups with college football, and yet another weekend of canceled games, the NFL has done well keeping the schedule moving despite the ongoing pandemic. A few games have moved on the calendar, but all scheduled games have been played at the end of Week 13.

Still, as an independent bookmaker, your regular fall haul doesn’t rely solely on NFL action. You want and need other sports to populate the schedule throughout the entire week.

Major help is coming.

Pay Per Head Sports Wagering: The NBA Is Back

College basketball has already tipped off, and the big money bets of the NBA are coming very soon.

The NBA will begin its regular season on December 22, just in time for its traditional huge day of Christmas action. There will be five nationally televised games on Christmas Day: Pelicans at Heat, Warriors at Bucks, Nets at Celtics, Mavericks at Lakers, and Clippers at Nuggets.

Because of the later-than-normal start, the NBA season will be shortened from 82 games down to 72, scheduled to end on May 16. Each conference will have a play-in tournament for the 7th through 10th place teams (May 18-21) to determine the 7th and 8th seeds for the playoffs. The NBA Playoffs are scheduled to run from May 22 through July 22.

An All-Star break, complete with all of our typical pay per head sports wagering favorites, is scheduled for March 5 to 10. Details on the location are still to come. The 2021 game initially scheduled for Indianapolis has been moved to 2024.

Pay Per Head Sports Wagering

Pay Per Head Sports Wagering: NHL Season Starting Soon

The NHL and NHL Player’s Association have taken care of their financial differences and are now eyeing a start date of January 13, with the hopes of playing a 56-game schedule for each team. However, that date isn’t set in stone, and the schedule may be dropped to 52 games.

The closed border between the U.S. and Canada is another hurdle that still has to be addressed. For Major League Baseball, it was easy enough for the Blue Jays to play in Buffalo. The NBA has the Raptors making a temporary home in Tampa. But the NHL has seven Canadian teams, and shuffling all of them to other American cities is not so simple.

The most likely scenario is for the NHL to realign for this season and make an All-Canadian division. The remaining 24 American teams would also realign to compensate for the loss of Canadian teams in their own divisions.

But the good news is that an uncertain season a couple of weeks ago is now moving forward, and the sports calendar is close to being normal again.

Pay Per Head Sports Wagering Software

The NBA begins in less than two weeks, the NFL Playoffs are just a month away, and the college basketball calendar is filling up. If you’re an independent bookmaker, don’t miss out on the extra money you will make with a pay per head sports wagering software partner.

You get a fully customizable website, your choice of offered sports and wager types, full client reports, and four free weeks to test it out. See a demo today at WagerHome.com.

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WagerHome BlogPay Per Head Sports Wagering Preparing for Another Huge Boost