The NBA is back and it’s bigger and better than ever before. The competition is fierce and the fans are in for a treat. The league has seen a surge in popularity with the advent of social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram where fans can follow their favourite players and teams in real-time.
While social media is great for keeping up with the latest news and scores, it can also create a frenzy amongst fans. When things are going well, the team and player’s feeds are filled with plenty of positive feedback and engagement. However, when they’re having a bad game or season, the fans turn on them with ruthless abandon.
To avoid being the next victim of the infamous “hipster hangover”, it’s important to take a step back and examine what’s going on. After all, it’s not easy to feel authentic joy when you’re down 20 points in the third quarter because the team you’re following lost three games in a row.
Key numbers in basketball betting are the stats that you need to know in order to do your research and make more informed decisions. Without further ado, let’s dive into the four most essential key numbers in NBA Betting.
Overall Winning Percentage
If you’ve ever ventured into NBA betting, you’ll have most likely come across win percentages. These figures, presented in hundreds or thousands, are a way of showing the amount of success a particular team or player has had in comparison to the rest of the league. Naturally, you’ll want to know how successful a particular team or player can be and how that compares to the rest of the league. For example, the Golden State Warriors have achieved an overall winning percentage of.688 over the past three seasons. This means that they’ve won 68.8% of their games over that period. As another example, let’s take a look at the Milwaukee Bucks. Over the past two seasons, the team has a winning percentage of.429 and.456 which, according to Basketball-Reference.com, places them in the bottom half of the league.
The point here is not to criticise or praise the teams and players based on their win-loss record. Rather, it’s to highlight the fact that you have a numerical figure to work with in terms of comparison. If you’re struggling to understand how a particular team operates or how successful they might be, win percentages are a great place to start. More often than not, the table provided will have the teams ranked from best to worst which can help you find the most efficient way to navigate the information.
Winning Road Percentage
The table above shows the win-loss record for each team over the last three seasons. However, if you’re a real fan of the game, you’ll want to know a bit more about the teams than that. Specifically, you’ll want to know how successful they’ve been on the road versus at home. Naturally, the percentages will vary from game to game and even from quarter to quarter based on a number of factors. The one thing that they have in common however, is that wherever they go, they seem to find a way to win and it’s time to celebrate!
The point of including this figure in your research is not to find the winning percentage over all games, but it’s to highlight the fact that a particular team has a winning record away from home. In some instances, this can be attributed to a poor home record that doesn’t truly reflect their ability. Nevertheless, even the teams ranked in the middle of the pack have shown an ability to beat the spread and win when playing on the road. Let’s take a closer look at the Golden State Warriors. Over the last three seasons, the team has a road winning percentage of.571 which places them in the middle of the pack, but still above average.
The road winning percentage for the Bucks and Toronto Raptors over the same period is.333 and.333 respectively, which is extremely low in comparison to the overall winning percentage of.688. This essentially means that on the road, the Warriors are doing something right. It could be that they’re playing better football or basketball than the other two teams, but regardless, they seem to be handling the big stage well.
Points For
Undoubtedly, the most important number in any game is the one that shows the total amount of points scored. Naturally, you’ll want to know how many points a player or team scores per game and how efficient they are compared to the rest of the league. For example, the Golden State Warriors averaged 101.3 points per game over the last three seasons. This is good for 12th in the entire league. If you’re unfamiliar, points per game is the amount of points scored by the team or player per game on average. Naturally, this will vary based on the strength of the opposing team’s defence, but also based on the number of shots that the team or player makes.
In terms of efficiency, it’s important to note that this number can be deceptive. For example, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored 101.3 points per game over the last three seasons, but they also allowed 104.3 points per game meaning that they were the 13th most efficient team in the league. Essentially, what this means is that they are getting a lot of points for what they’re scoring. The key is to look at the entire team to determine how efficient they are and not just at what the star players are doing.
Points Against
Just as important as knowing how many points a team or player scores is knowing how many points they allow. Naturally, you’ll want to know this number so that you can properly assess how good a team or player’s defence is. If you’re unfamiliar, points allowed per game is the amount of points allowed by the team or player per game on average. Naturally, this will vary based on the strength of the opposing team’s offence, but also based on the number of minutes that the player or team spends defending against the opposition.
In terms of overall impact, it’s important to note that this number can also be somewhat deceiving. For example, the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 108 points per game over the last three seasons, but they also allowed 106.3 points per game meaning that they were the 13th most efficient team in the league. Once again, this is because they get a lot of points for what they allow. The main takeaway from this example is simply to assess how good a team’s defence is across the board. You can take this into consideration when placing your bets. Better to have a team that scores a lot, but allows a lot, than the other way around.
Looking back at our initial three key numbers, we can see that overall winning percentage is something that you’ll want to keep an eye on. This is especially true if you’re looking to place a wager on the game. Naturally, you’ll want to know how much you should wager and how that compares to the rest of the league. More often than not, the teams at the top are the most efficient teams in the league, but they’re also the ones that score the least amount of points. Alternatively, the teams at the bottom oftentimes have the most efficient defence, but also the least effective offence.
As stated above, the point of including these figures in your research is not to find one team or player’s record over another. It’s simply to highlight the fact that you have a number that can be used to compare teams and players in a meaningful way. In some instances, this might mean that a team or player is better than expected, but in other cases, it could also indicate that they’re underachieving given their records. With that in mind, it’s important not to get blinded by the apparent stats, but to look at how they compare to the rest of the league.