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The NBA season is a long and strenuous one that can take a lot out of a player. It takes a toll on the body as well as the mind. Leaving Boston after a game at midnight, traveling across country to Denver where you get a couple hours of sleep and then have to play again that night.

It takes a whole team including masseuses, and most importantly; a strong coach to be able to get the players riled up to be able to play at their best for a full nearly hour long game. Taking a look at the win/loss numbers from the past two seasons, it’s pretty clear that the NBA has the best home court advantage, even more so than football or baseball.

According to statistics, home teams win about 59% of the time. Plus, when the opposite team is forced to play on enemy territory, it seems to put the game on a more level playing field.

Now why is this? Why are home teams at more of an advantage than the away team? One reason may be that there are so many games in the season. There is little rest between games and having to travel will take its toll on any person. But when it comes down to the players on an individual basis, it’s all about the psychology of the players in the game. Players are human beings just like you and me, keep this in mind when developing a smart sports betting strategy. Being forced to get on an airplane into unknown territory can have an effect on a player.

Although they subtly, might have less to worry about than a player who knows he is going home to his kids and wife at the end of the night, a home team is always more comfortable with their surroundings. It’s also a huge plus to have people cheering you on instead of booing you. This of course, has a strong effect on these testosterone filled players. I don’t know if any of you have ever met an National Basketball Association player but even if you’ve watched interviews, you know these guys have huge egos.

So, being routed on by 15K people feeds into their egos perfectly and gives these players that extra push he needs to play a stronger defense or hit that foul shot. It’s a lot like Popeye requiring his spinach and Barkley needs his gambling; NBA players have that desire to be worshiped by the crowd they are playing for.

To play devil’s advocate, there indeed are other people being affected by the roars of the crowd in an NBA arena; the refs. Even though they won’t admit it, NBA referees are affected by reactions from the audience. This might be because of the closeness the audience has to the court unlike other sports….if you are open to spending nearly 3k for a ticket, you can smell the aftershave the referee is wearing that night!

So this, coupled with the fact that the refs must make objective choices in a very short period of time, will force them to possibly make calls that might be affected by the cheers or boos of a crowd; just remember this when planning your own sports betting strategy when it comes to placing bets on the home team.

Rich Allen is an expert in Sports Betting Strategy and has worked for Las Vegas and Atlantic City books. His Sports Betting Professor Systems have sold over 250,000 units and cover all major sports including horse racing. Download a FREE copy of The Sports Betting Insider’s Guide at: http://richallensports.com/sports-betting-strategy

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