Interior Fractions
In horse racing interior fractions of the time of the race can be one of the keys to cashing tickets and when betting on hoops, players have to look to the little things to come up with some big conclusions.
It can be a trap to get caught up with just seeing a final score of a game and making all kinds of assumptions but just like in life, things can unravel and go out of control for the most inconsequential things.
Nothing comes easy in the world and the most astute hoop bettors around put in the time to succeed.
They will not only scour the boxcars of the games after the final buzzer goes off but also try to glean what they can out of the various recaps that are available on line.
Just a little tidbit of information that is not black and white can be used to make sound judgments and hopefully winning bets.
Take for instance, a game last week between the Lakers and the Clippers. Both teams went on 10-2 outbursts in the 4th quarter and with just over a minute to go Eric Gordon went one for 2 from the line but Clips still had a 5-point lead with 74 seconds to go.
Then Ron Artest got involved and stole the ball twice from Gordon and the Lakers Derek Fisher hit a lay up at the buzzer to win.
Further analysis shows the Clips won the second and third quarters, dominated on the glass, and are showing signs of turning the corner.
In a game last Friday night, George Karl won his 1,000th game beating the Raptors in Toronto but a closer look at the game can offer some insights that can be projected later in the season.
The Raptors were down most of the game but with 47 seconds to go were only down 4 and forced Chauncey Billups into taking a horrible fall away jumper that missed.
What happened next sealed the Raptors fate. Two Raptor players fought for the rebound, they lost it out of bounds, and Billups got the ball back and was then fouled. He made a pair to close the deal.
At first glance of the box score, one could make the assumptions that Toronto was just flat and lost but they forced 22 turnovers, had the game in their sights, and lost because of one bad break.
After a poor defensive effort in the first half Toronto put it together and bonded in the second in a brighter than it seems performance.
These are just two games, but everybody that bets on hoops knows that so many games are decided in garbage time when the outcome of the game straight up has been decided.
If one team dominates early and sits on a lead and just holds on by 4 or 5 points, this can be a much better performance than a squad that just gets hot for 8 minutes while another team can’t throw the ball in the ocean.
Examine the interior parts of the game this season and thrive.
