MA Sports Betting 101: How to Bet on Boston Celtics, NBA Games

The NBA offers almost nightly action featuring some of the most gifted athletes in the world. Sports fans who enjoy having a little action on games often look to the NBA for the best Massachusetts sports betting opportunities.

Sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, PointsBet and others will offer NBA odds in Massachusetts once the state launches its online sports betting market. With so many Boston Celtics and hoops fans in the state, the NBA is bound to be one of the most popular topics of betslips when Massachusetts apps go live in March.

Our guide below is designed to provide a tutorial for understanding the basics of NBA betting, and to hone your skills for use with Massachusetts sportsbooks.

The NBA: Two Seasons for Bettors

Probably the best thing about an NBA betting strategy is that you can focus on two seasons: the regular schedule of games starting in October, and the two-month-long NBA Playoffs that culminate with the NBA Finals in mid-June.

Because there are so many matchups and futures bets for the regular season, it’s really a separate animal for the NBA bettor. Once the 82-game season ends, the NBA Playoffs, which now has some of the features of the NCAA March Madness format, takes over.

The play-in games and multiple rounds of competition make the pro basketball postseason a unique spectacle for those fans who like to wager.

NBA Moneyline

The most popular MA sports betting odds are the moneyline odds. Those are the numbers you see with either a PLUS or MINUS sign in front of them. For example:

• Boston -175 vs. LA Lakers +155

In this game, the Celtics are favored (minus sign), and the Lakers are the underdogs (plus sign tells us that). The numbers indicate what you have to bet or what you’ll win, based on $100.

For example, a winning bet on the Celtics at -175 would require $175 wagered to win $100. For every $100 you bet on the Celtics, if they win the game, you win $75. Bet $300 on -175 odds, and you’d win $525 (original $300 plus $225).

It doesn’t matter if Boston wins that game by one point at the buzzer in double overtime, or by 25 points. When you bet the moneyline, you’re betting only on the outcome, win or loss.

On the other side, with the Lakers at +155, that means a winning bet of $100 would earn you $155 in winnings.

The moneyline is always based on a $100 bet (wager on the underdog) or what you’d have to bet to win $100 (wager on the favorite). 

Please note: You don’t have to wager $100 on a moneyline bet, or bet enough to win $100. You can bet anything.

How to Parlay Bet the NBA

When you combine two or more NBA bets, you’ve designed a parlay. A parlay bet joins several bets (it can be many bets or “legs” long) to make one bet that can deliver a big payout.

In a parlay bet, you must win every bet (or leg) of the parlay to win. If you fail on any part of your parlay, you lose.

But if your parlay legs all win, the Massachusetts sportsbook will deliver great odds for you, typically. For example:

• Jayson Tatum Total Points + Assists + Rebounds Over 46.5
• Derrick White 3-Point Field Goals Over 1.5
• Robert Williams Total Blocks + Steals Over 2.5
• Marcus Smart Over 12.5 Points

This example is a four-leg parlay composed of player prop bets for a group of Celtics players. If all four of these bets hit, you win your parlay. The odds for a parlay like this may be as high as +550 or more, which would be much higher than you’d get from any of these wagers individually.

This is also an example of a Same Game Parlay, since it involves players competing in the same NBA game.

Player Props for NBA Stars

As we illustrated in the parlay example above, you can bet on what you think a player will do in a game. That’s called a player prop, and you can place bets on that for almost any player in any NBA game.

For example, wager on whether LeBron James will record a double-double, or how many 3-pointers Klay Thompson might make.

NBA Over/Under Betting

In a future article, we’ll dive (like Dennis Rodman after a loose ball) into NBA Over/Under betting. In those bets, you can wager on the total points by an individual team, or both teams, in any NBA game.

Futures Bets: Winning Money on Which Team Wins the NBA Finals

Like other sports, you can find odds on team futures for the NBA. Before the season starts, you’ll find odds on Over/Under for wins for any team, for example.

Sportsbooks like DraftKings Massachusetts and others will also list odds for each team to win their conference or the NBA Finals. Those futures odds will be updated throughout the season.

These types of bets can make a large payoff if you get your wager in early on a longshot you have your eye on.