NBA Playoff: How to Navigate the Lines During the Postseason

NBA Playoff: How to Navigate the Lines During the Postseason

The playoffs are the most exciting time of year for NBA fans. They offer a relentless schedule of games, and the biggest prize in basketball at the end brings a flurry of predictions. Despite its fame, many US gamers don’t understand the difference between playoff games and the regular season. However, understanding these differences is not as complex as it may seem, and it’s simple to quickly get up to speed with why they’re different propositions.

Differences Between Regular Season and Playoff Games

There are two main differences between the regular season and the playoffs. The first is what’s on the line, as it’s a knock-out tournament to decide the season’s overall winner. By the time you get to the playoffs, NBA lines will have more data behind them due to an entire season. However, because the preceding games were less important, there’s a significant opportunity for upsets. 

The second main difference relates to the number of games. In regular season games, teams will play their divisional opponents four times. However, in the playoffs, each round of games is a best-of-seven series. While a team can grab a clean sweep and only play four games, there’s the chance for it to go through all seven. Thanks to this, you can find a lot of lines, particularly in each game in a series. It provides more choices for players, ensuring they can use their research to make the best picks. 

Strategies Specific to Playoff Games

While NBA predictions generally remain the same, some strategies are specific to the playoffs. Using these can help you differentiate and improve your chances of success. Of course, it’s always best to select a high-quality odds provider such as Sportzino to make your predictions.

Avoid Predicting Individual Games

If you want to make a pick for each round, predict who you expect to win the series. Picking on specific games decreases your chances of predicting correctly. Understanding that games will revert to the most likely outcome over multiple events can inform your strategy. As a result, picking who you think wins the series gives you a better chance of being correct than picking individual games within a series. 

Pick Conference Champions

Choosing the conference champions is more straightforward than predicting the overall NBA champions. Since either of the teams that make it to the final game will be strong, choosing the overall winner is challenging. 

It’s generally easier to predict the potential winners of each conference, so your picks are more likely to be accurate. Although there are no guarantees, you can get a good sense of the likely conference winners after watching the regular season. 

Key Factors to Consider for Postseason Matchups

The injury list is the main factor to consider for postseason games. It’s a long and grueling season, so anyone coming into the playoffs with an injury will likely struggle to perform. 

A great example is Kevin Durant’s final season with the Golden State Warriors. He struggled with an injury throughout the playoffs, which eventually hampered the Warriors and stopped them from winning three championships in a row. Look for similar cases that can help you make your playoff predictions.