
Cavs fans love to follow their team during the NBA season and there are more ways than ever to do this now. Watching Kenny Atkinson’s men in action on TV remains an enduringly popular pastime, as does catching the latest gossip around the side online.
Betting on Cavaliers games is another example of the many diverse ways fans can get closer to the team now.
There’s a lot more to basketball betting than just backing one side to win in the modern age though and multiple different bet types now exist to get involved with.
Bet variations in basketball: What should you know?
If you plan to start betting on Cavs games, you need to know the basic types of bet variations there are to choose from. The major ones to know about are shown below.
Moneyline
Moneyline bets involve placing a straight bet on who will win the game and come with odds that have a plus or minus symbol next to them.
The purpose of these symbols is to quickly show who the favorite is and spell out what any wager could return. If the Cavs were playing the Wizards for example, you may see odds of -150 for Cleveland and +450 for Washington.
As the Cavs odds have a minus sign next to them, they are favorites for this game, and you would need to bet $150 to make $100 profit. The Wizards though are outsiders (due to the plus sign next to their odds) and a stake of $100 would return $450 in profit.
For a deeper dive into this and other bet types, check out AskGamblers today.
Point spread
Point spread is a very popular bet variant for NBA wagering and levels up the playing field by giving the perceived outsider in a game a pre-defined head start.
The bigger an outsider bookies think a side to be, the bigger advantage they will be given in pre-game point spread markets. If the Hornets were seen as rank outsiders against the Cavs in an upcoming game, for example, bookies might show the below point spread market to bet on:
- Cleveland Cavaliers: -4.5 (Odds 1.50)
- Charlotte Hornets: +4.5 (Odds 1.50)
If you fancy the Cleveland Cavaliers to win by 5 points or more, you’d back them to do this at the odds shown. If they manage to do this, you win the bet but would lose it if they did not win or won by less than five points.
If you feel that the Hornets might run them close, you could back them and win the bet if they lose by less than five points or win the match.
Totals
This popular basketball betting variant is based on the amount of points scored in a game. If the Cavs were playing a regular season match for example, most bookie will let you wager on how many points will be scored in it. This commonly involves deciding the total points will be over or under a pre-set figure, such as 170.5.
Another popular Totals market relates to the total number of points one side might score in a game. If you fancy backing the Cavs in this way, for example, you might see bookies giving odds on them to score over or under 100.5 points for example.
Props bets
This sort of NBA bet involves backing individual players to do or not do specific things in a game. A good example is backing Donovan Mitchell to score more than 15 points in his next game or predicting that Isaac Okoro will not score more than 10 in his next appearance.
When it comes to major events like the NBA Finals, some bookies will even let you bet on a much wider range of props markets. This might involve predicting that a certain celeb fan will be spotted in the crowd or what hairstyle a particular player might have for it!
Parlays
Parlays are popular NBA bets which take multiple single wagers and bundle them up into one big bet. Some bookies now even offer the chance to place parlays made up of bets from the same match, whilst more traditional parlays include individual wagers from different games.
The major advantage this type of bet delivers is bigger returns. You do need all selections in a parlay to win to be paid out though.
What effect do betting variations have on basketball wagering?
One of the most obvious effects of betting variations on basketball wagering is a lot more choice for gamblers. Having a good range of bet types means you are not confined to the same few all the time and have much more freedom when betting on the NBA.
Many punters will also point to better value as one effect of various bet types on basketball wagering. Bets outside of things like Moneyline for example can come with better value odds and the potential to positively impact profits in the long run.
When it comes to placing bets on leagues like the NBA specifically, more types of bets attract more punters. This helps to make basketball wagering popular and something that all sports fans take an interest in.
Basketball betting and different types of wagers
As the above shows, there is a decent choice of bet types in basketball wagering and they combine to have a positive effect overall. If you plan to start betting on the Cavs as the season rumbles on, getting to grips with these different bet types is worthwhile.