When making our NBA future picks we like to take into account a variety of factors, here we take a closer look at some of those.
Results and stats from previous seasons
The way a certain team’s season ends is often a motivating factor to their success further down the road in the NBA and we have a prime example from last season.
After losing Khris Middleton to an injury in their Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Boston Celtics, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will be itching to bounce back this time around with a healthy squad on hand.
A more radical example of this are the 2014 San Antonio Spurs who got their revenge after losing 4-3 in the NBA Finals the year before against the Miami Heat.
Odds/Line Movement
The NBA is a dynamic sport with events like big upsets, injuries or trades happening on a daily basis and therefore movement of lines and odds is very frequent. For example, a team could open the season at +10000 odds to win the NBA Finals, but after putting together along winning streak their odds can be slashed all the way down to +1600.
The same applies for teams that are struggling. For instance, a team like the Miami Heat could be priced at +1100 to win the whole things, but after losing 8 or 9 games in a row they could go all the way down to +3000 which sounds a lot more appealing to bet on from an odds perspective.
There’s a famous saying in sports that can be applied here – form is temporary, class is permanent. And that’s exactly the case when betting on NBA futures, it is key to follow betting markets on a daily basis in order to catch the best odds as soon as they become available.
Future Potential
Seeing something special in a team/player before it becomes obvious to everyone else is a very useful skill to have, just ask any NBA GM and they will tell you the same. Teams can often peek ahead of schedule and if you have the ability to spot that, you are in for a bigPayout.
For example, not a lot of people expected the Memphis Grizzlies to finish with the 2nd best record in the Western Conference last season. Their pre-season Over/Under total was set at just 41.5 games which they easily surpassed by winning 56 of them. As a result their odds to win the title went down from +10000 at the beginning of last season to just +2400 thisSeason.
Injury History
There’s nothing worse than injuries in the NBA and they are one of the most common factors which can ruin your Future bets prematurely. NBA Players spend a lot of time, effort and money to stay in the best shape possible, but sometimes even that isn’t enough to prevent a freak injury, so it is important to note which players are injury prone and take that into account when making a wager.
For example, a player like Anthony Davis is one of the most known players in this field as he often misses long chunks of the season due to injuries which hurt his team’s chances of winning. And more often than not, it is not even his fault. The NBA is a contact sport and with Davis playing down low, his chances of running into someone or rolling his ankle are higher than a perimeter player.
