This time of year is one of the busiest for a professional sports handicapper that provides insight, advice and selection services on both football and basketball. We’ve been on a nice run in the NFL and produced profit in both college and pro football again this season, and now the NBA has tipped off and college basketball begins next week. It’s a great time to be betting on sports if you’re prepared and able to stand some of the fluctuations that follow with betting action every night. The preparation, research and time commitment on a daily basis is an enormous task and responsibility, and you can never seem to gather enough good information.
However, I’ve learned over the years that the beauty of basketball is not only having the ability to build a bankroll on a daily basis, but the information and situations that present themselves during basketball season can provide the astute handicapper and bettor an edge over the bookmakers in certain situations. This is especially true in college basketball, as the number of teams and conferences to cover along with the number of games that require betting lines makes it inevitable that there will be more soft or off lines posted by the bookmakers. That’s why you’ll see such strong line moves earlier in the season and especially on college totals. We’ve already seen some significant line and totals adjustments in the first week of NBA action.

The NBA represents the longest sports season for handicappers and bettors, unless you’re like me and bet on PGA golf. And while golf gets the least public interest in terms of betting, it happens to be the easiest to beat and I’ve proven that for over five years. The NBA can be a beast, and while pro basketball is far from my favorite sport, it can be beaten if you have the balls to battle and stay on top of the teams throughout the season. With a long 82-game season plus playoffs, players and teams have a tough time maintaining their edge, and the travel and grind on the hardwood make it difficult for players to consistently perform at their peak; especially if they’re battling any type of injury. It’s inevitable there will be some rough spots, and having the handicapping knowledge and experience to understand various systems, travel schedules and upcoming games along with changing player personnel, performance levels and team chemistry become important in a handicappers ability to beat the bookmaker and game. There is much to evaluate and many pieces to the puzzle if you want to produce profit through the course of a long NBA season.

I’ve tipped of the 2008-09 NBA season with a 4-0 start following Monday nights 90-79 Memphis win as a 2-point home underdog. One of the winners was an over/under totals play while the three side selections were all outright underdog winners. In fact, all four of my shots and selections have covered the point spread by at least 13 points. A win is a win, but to get some early season margin winners is a nice ‘tap-in’ bonus as there will inevitably be many close calls and a few rough spots throughout the season.

I’ve had both winning and losing seasons over the past five years handicapping the NBA. However, I was documented at the Sports Monitor as one of the very top NBA handicappers last season by posting a 46-28 (62%) regular season record with over 16-units of net profit. My side and totals plays were both at 60% or better. If you’re interested in Fairway's Forecast and taking a shot with my NBA service and point spread prognosis then call the Sportsmemo office at 1-800-575-3069 and consider a month or more of service.

For more college and pro basketball betting analysis by Fairway Jay, go to www.sportsmemo.com.