Sports Handicapping Pro Basketball Emotion

During the grind of the 82-game National Basketball Association regular season there are but just a few games in which emotion can possibly even play a remote part in the sports handicapping equation of pro games against the sports betting odds. That being said, there are some occurrences in which a pro basketball team may have a motivational, if not emotional, edge in a game and sports betting players that can detect these occasions will often have a distinct edge against the online sports betting websites and casino sportsbooks, as the more shallow sports betting players often overlook motivational edges against the sports betting odds.

About the only memorable pro basketball game that had any emotional component leading up to it in 2004-05 was the Christmas Day game between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. This game was so big that the Las Vegas sportsbooks and online sports betting websites had sports betting odds posted weeks prior to the actual game. There was the obvious motivation of Miami to play hard for Shaq against his enemy, Kobe Bryant, and his desire to have a happy homecoming to LA and before a national television audience. This game was far different from the normal NBA game that a sports betting player would consider wagering on. But outside of this game, there were few, if any, pro basketball games that had any emotional component to even consider when sports handicapping.

One positive motivational boost that will often work for a pro basketball team in the short run is after they fire the coach. The Denver Nuggets became a money machine for sports betting players once George Karl took over in midseason as coach, and because Denver had such a poor early season record, astute sports betting players were able to get outstanding value against the sports betting odds. By the time the general sports betting public caught on to Denver, the “wise guys/sharps” had made their profits against the online sports betting websites and casino sportsbooks.

Even struggling Minnesota had a brief surge when they had a coaching change as the team played with extra motivation. A coaching change during the season is often one of the most effective emotional sports handicapping factors but must be used with caution as eventually the team gets over it’s initial surge of energy and most often returns to what it was originally, unless as was the case with Denver they were truly underachieving. Sports betting players must be level headed when sports handicapping the NBA.