{"id":154921,"date":"2020-11-10T15:45:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T23:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=154921"},"modified":"2020-11-10T16:39:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T00:39:51","slug":"sportsbooks-thrilled-for-nbas-return-after-tumultuous-season-of-covid-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbooks-thrilled-for-nbas-return-after-tumultuous-season-of-covid-social-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Sportsbook Operators Thrilled for NBA\u2019s Return After Tumultuous Season of COVID, Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA on Monday said it\u2019s planning to tip off its 75th season on Dec. 22, about two months later than usual. The announcement of a 72-game season was cheered by sportsbooks, which have been leaning on football with the start of the NBA, NHL and college basketball seasons delayed.<\/p>\n

\"NBA
Players on the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs kneel for the national anthem before their NBA game on July 31 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. TV ratings for the NBA playoffs plummeted, perhaps in part because of social-justice messaging. (Image: Kim Klement\/USA TODAY Sports<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAt this point, we are dying for more content during the week, so the NBA starting would be very welcome,\u201d<\/strong> said Ed Salmons, the vice president of risk management and oddsmaking at Westgate SuperBook, to Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the Miami Heat for the COVID-delayed championship on Oct. 12, are 7\/2 favorites to win the 2020-21 championship at SuperBook.<\/p>\n

Betting Better Than Ratings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The pandemic meant a four-and-a-half month break in the action last season. When the NBA returned on July 30 in a \u201cbubble\u201d in Orlando, Fla., NFL training camps were gearing up. When the conference finals started, the football season was under way.<\/p>\n

Between the loss of momentum, competition from football, the controversial social-justice messaging, and a relatively one-sided championship series, TV ratings plunged. For the NBA Finals, ratings were down 51 percent from last year.<\/p>\n

We actually did not see a big plummet or drop-off like the TV ratings,\u201d<\/strong> said Patrick Eichner, the director of communications for PointsBet, to Casino.org<\/em>. \u201cBetting interest was very strong and the NBA was still a huge driver, as per usual. To be honest, I\u2019d imagine the bettors were the ones still tuning in!\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

John Sheeran, the director of trading for FanDuel, reported \u201cexcellent\u201d betting volume. It was the same at William Hill.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t affect us at all,\u201d <\/strong>said Nick Bogdanovich, the director of trading at William Hill, to Casino.org<\/em>. \u201cThere was plenty of money in the pot. The bubble was a huge success. Hats off to the NBA for pulling it off. The bettors were strong on the NBA. Real strong.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, Matthew Metcalf, the sportsbook director for Circa Sports, said the delay took a bite out of business.<\/p>\n

The NBA playoffs drew far less action than we are used to seeing when they take place in the spring\/summer months,\u201d<\/strong> Metcalf told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s nearly impossible to determine how much the league’s social justice campaigning, which included “Black Lives Matter” painted across the courts and individual messages replacing names on jerseys, affected interest. But NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said there would be “somewhat of a return to normalcy” for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

With college football and the NFL, sportsbooks had their typically strong weekends. NFL games on Monday night and Thursday night are huge, too. College football\u2019s Mid-American Conference has filled the TV desert<\/a> \u2013 and helped fill the betting void \u2013 by playing its games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.<\/p>\n

Still, a game like Wednesday\u2019s between Toledo and Western Michigan is no substitute for a Lakers-Celtics showdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I love Tuesday night MACtion, yes, the return of the NBA will definitely be big for books in filling the holes in the daily schedule,\u201d<\/strong> Eichner said.<\/p>\n

Lakers Are Favorites<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No different than the end of the season<\/a>, the LeBron James-led Lakers are the consensus favorites at sportsbooks. At William Hill, the Lakers are +375, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers at +400, Milwaukee Bucks at +650, Golden State Warriors at +800, Brooklyn Nets at +850, and Celtics and Heat at +1,200.<\/p>\n

Bogdanovich said the Lakers have \u201cby far\u201d the most tickets and money in William Hill\u2019s future market.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got to believe it\u2019s a lot more wide open than it ever has been,\u201d <\/strong>he said. \u201cLast year proved that. A lot of the middle teams made a step up, and LeBron will be a year older and everything went right for him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At FanDuel, two teams that were hammered by injuries, the Warriors and Nets, are among the most popular championship bets, Sheeran said. The Warriors had the worst record in the NBA last year without stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.<\/p>\n

The NBA Draft will be held Nov. 18 and free agency will begin Nov. 20. The future of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks will be a focal point of a short and swift off-season. He is under contract through the upcoming season, but could force a trade if he desires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re assuming he\u2019s playing,\u201d <\/strong>Bogdanovich said. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of money on Milwaukee. With a team like that, we\u2019ll probably adjust up at some point just to get some tickets on them. But we\u2019re assuming he\u2019ll be with the Bucks.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While TV ratings plummeted for last year’s NBA playoffs, sportsbooks mostly saw strong action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":154920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[81861,80969,81253,81254,81255,81033,81258],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSportsbook Operators Thrilled for NBA\u2019s Return After Tumultuous Season of COVID, Social Justice - Casino.org Sportsbook Operators Thrilled for NBA\u2019s Return After Tumultuous Season of COVID, Social Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While TV ratings plummeted for last year's NBA playoffs, sportsbooks mostly saw strong action. 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