How many times have you been on the right side of an NBA point spread bet only to watch the opponent pull off the backdoor cover? There actually is a way you can avoid the backdoor cover and that’s by betting NBA quarters.
In addition to betting moneylines, spreads, and totals for NBA games; bettors also have the ability to bet on spreads and totals for individual NBA quarters. There is some real value in betting NBA quarters. Here’s how to capitalize.
The Numbers
As with traditional point spread and totals bets on a game, sportsbooks will offer numbers for an individual quarter. Let’s say the Lakers are taking on the Rockets. Los Angeles might be listed as a 10-point home favorite and the total for the game is 218.
The numbers for quarters are, of course, going to be smaller. The Lakers may be strong right out of the gate in the first quarter and you may like them to cover a 2.5-point spread instead of the game’s 10-point spread.
For the quarter, the total might be 54.5. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers and James Harden of the Rockets, you might bet the Over in the first quarter if all three players perform well early in games.
NBA Quarters Betting Strategy
There are plenty of angles for NBA bettors with regard to quarters betting strategy. One involves betting on the game itself and then betting on that team to win the first quarter. Teams that win the first quarter, more often than not, go on to win games.
One strategy involves betting all four quarters of a single game. It is extremely rare for a team to win and cover the spread in all four quarters of an NBA game. Knowing that, you can bet on the team that lost the first quarter to cover in the second. If they lose the second, you can double up and bet on them in the third quarter, and do the same for the fourth quarter. The same strategy also works for totals bets.
Another strategy is to bet on certain teams. Go back to the 2017-18 NBA season as an example. The Golden State Warriors were very good and ranked third in the league with a +5.9 net rating. Now, you might think that the Warriors net rating was roughly +1.5 for each quarter. You would be wrong.
The 2017-18 Warriors were not a very good first quarter team. Their net rating for the quarter was +0.6. They improved to +5.4 in the second quarter, but what was really interesting was their net rating in the third quarter. It was a whopping +17.4!
Doing some research, you would find out that Golden State was amazing coming out of the halftime break. If you were looking for a solid NBA quarters bet, you could have bet on the Warriors to cover the spread in the third quarter and, possibly, bet on the total for the third quarter as well.
NBA quarters betting offers bettors a unique opportunity to find value. Take advantage of it and add to your bankroll.