When we last check in (prior to the Lakers and Jazz Game Three), the home teams in the second round were dominating both the win column and the cash. Home teams had gone 10-0 straight up, and 9-1 against the pointspread.

Since that time, the linesmakers have done a good job adjusting the lines. Home teams are 12-2 straight up from May 9 going forward, but are only 7-7 ATS. For the second round as a whole (not including tonight’s Spurs-Hornets Game Seven), the home teams are a combined 22-2 straight up and 16-8 ATS.

Both home teams that lost outright also failed to cover the pointspread. Orlando lost 90-89 as a 5.5-point favorite, while Utah fell to the Lakers, 108-105 as a four-point choice. Therefore, in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the winning team was 18-6 ATS – a 75% proposition!

Despite the home teams’ dominance, the action on most of the games have been pretty even. In fact, there wasn’t one lopsided game since the last blog posting! The book was relieved, however, to see Boston win Game Seven on Sunday, as more than a few people took Cleveland in the series, paying roughly 5.5-to-1.

The Cleveland-Boston series was the exception this year. The Cavs covered three of the four games played in Boston despite losing all four contests. Cleveland ended up going 6-1 ATS against the Celtics over the span of the seven-game series.

The New Orleans-San Antonio series has stayed perfect to form. The home team is a perfect 6-0 both straight up and ATS. The Hornets hope that trend remains true tonight, as they are a 4.5-point home favorite.

Will the home-team trend continue into the Conference Finals? Last year, home teams went 8-3 straight up and 7-4 ATS. Cleveland went a perfect 6-0 ATS against Detroit, including three ATS wins in the Motor City. San Antonio went 4-1 ATS against the Jazz, covering one of the two games played in Utah. The two NBA Finals teams went a combined 10-1 ATS in the Conference Finals Round.

We’ll be back here next week to see if any trends develop during the next series!

Heading into Friday night’s Game Three between the Lakers and Jazz, the home teams in the second round have been near perfect so far. In ten second round games, the home team is a perfect 10-0 straight up and a near-perfect 9-1 against the pointspread. That lone ATS loss was Game One of the Cleveland-Boston Series, in which the Celtics won by four points while laying ten.

Not only are the home teams winning, they are winning big. The average margin of victory in the nine ATS home covers was by 15 points. Eight of those nine games saw the home team win by double-digits.

Does this trend continue through the rest of the second round? It’s hard to tell, but both Orlando and San Antonio had big wins in their first game on their home court.

Orlando was a five-point favorite at home against the Pistons after losing the first two in Detroit. The Magic easily covered that number, winning by 25 points.

San Antonio was blown out in each of the first two games in New Orleans. They responded with a convincing 11-point victory at home in Game Three, covering as seven-point chalk.

Both Utah and Cleveland are small favorites in their first home games of the second round. Utah is a -4.5 favorite against the Lakers on Friday, while Cleveland is a small one-point choice at home against the Celtics on Saturday night.

There were three one-sided games in the LazerWager Sportsbook this week. The players fared well, winning two of the three. First, the players won big with Cleveland covering the 10-point number in Game One against Boston (the only road team to cover the spread in the second round). Next, the players backed Orlando at home in their 25-point win against Detroit.

The book was able to recoup some of their losses on Thursday, as once again the players backed LeBron James and the Cavs, who fell by 16 in Boston.

Keep an eye on the home teams throughout the rest of the second round, and we’ll be back here soon with more NBA Playoff Trends.

Heading in to the elimination games of the NBA Playoffs, some interesting NBA Betting Trends are starting to emerge. Let’s first take a look at how these games are playing out, then we’ll see how NBA bettors are faring so far this postseason.

Through Sunday, April 27, home teams in the playoffs are 20-10 straight up and 17-13 against the pointspread (ATS). While the Houston vs. Utah series has been a little strange (road team is 1-3 both straight up and ATS), that 20-10 mark moves to 19-7 (73%) if you remove the results from the Rockets and Jazz.

The higher-seeded teams have an identical straight up record as home teams (20-10), but fare a little better against the spread, going 19-11 ATS. Favorites are a near-even 16-14 versus the number, but a closer look at the numbers show that the chalk started 13-6 ATS, and then went 3-8 ATS over the last three days.

Totals Players should note that the “Under” has won 12 of the last 17 games, and is 17-13 so far in the postseason.

Sports bettors were right on the money from the beginning, with two of the most one-sided games being on New Orleans -4.5 in Game One against Dallas, and Utah +1 against Houston in Game Two. The Hornets beat Dallas 104-92, easily covering the number, while Utah won outright on the road, 90-84.

Sunday afternoon was another good day for the players, as the Hornets and Cavs were betting favorites and both came through with big wins. Cleveland beat Washington outright, 100-97, and New Orleans won by 13 while laying just 4.5 points.

The best games for the book were actually in baseball betting, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays swept the Boston Red Sox. Boston had heavy backing in all three contests.

As far as the rest of the playoffs are concerned, the book didn’t have any big winners, but ended up pretty well with balanced action in between the two weekends.

We’ll check back here later after the first round is over and see how both the teams and players are doing heading into the second round.

Remember, to check out the LazerWager Sportsbook daily for current lines on every NBA Playoff Game, and don’t forget to visit our NBA Playoff Props as well!

What a game to end a fantastic March Madness Tournament! The Jayhawks miracle comeback (down by 9 with two minutes left) left most LazerWager players as winners Monday night. Let’s recap the final three games of the Tournament.

Saturday was a great day for the books. It started with Memphis as a two-point favorite against UCLA. The players jumped all over the Bruins, as nearly 75% of the pointspread wagers were backing UCLA. The Tigers had a slim three-point halftime lead before blowing out the Bruins in the second half, winning by 15.

The second game had North Carolina as a three-point choice against Kansas. Although there were more bets placed on Kansas in this matchup, there was a significant larger amount of money bet on the Tar Heels. North Carolina was blown out early, trailing by 17 at halftime. The books also cleaned up on the second half, as UNC -7.5 was the popular second half play. The Tar Heels pulled to within six with about five minutes left, but then faded as Kansas won by 18.

The Championship Game was split 60-40, with the majority of the wagers coming in on Memphis, but about 65% of the cash was on Kansas. The worse possible scenario for the House was almost realized, as a one-point Memphis win would pay out the Memphis Future wagers, and also the Kansas pointspread money. Luckily for the house, the Tigers inability to make free throws down the stretch sent the game to overtime, where Kansas won by seven points.

Total players also had a good Final Four, with over 60% of Over/Under wagers being paid out as winners. In fact, the Championship Game stayed under the posted total of 158, even with the overtime period.

Now that the College Basketball season is over, hoops fans will turn their attention to the NBA, which starts their playoffs in a week and a half. We’ll review some NBA Betting trends here next time.