Sports bettors around the world that bet the NBA playoffs are very familiar with the Zig-Zag theory. You take the team coming off a loss in their next game versus the NBA odds. Sports bettors around the world that bet the NBA playoffs are very familiar with the Zig-Zag theory. This theory is as simple as it gets. You take the team coming off a loss in their next game versus the NBA odds. The reasoning behind the Zig-Zag theory for gamblers looking at NBA odds is that the team off a loss will be more inspired, play harder, and be getting good value. It used to be an automatic in the NBA playoffs, but as with many things, when the NBA odds makers catch up, the value is gone.
There was a time when the Zig-Zag theory was money in the bank for those bettors looking at NBA basketball odds. It was a big winner in the 1990’s but in recent years it has suffered from its popularity. It has actually seen losing years. The early 2000 years saw the theory struggle. The 2003 season saw gamblers looking at NBA odds following the Zig-Zag go 33-36-4. 2002 though was a winning year for those looking at NBA odds using the theory based almost entirely on the first round. The record for the year was 31-23-2 ATS. The first round results were 18-8 against the NBA odds. 2001 was just the opposite of 2002 as the record was a poor 23-31-1 versus the NBA basketball odds.
Overall the 2000 years have been a loser. 2002 was the big year and it was only profitable during that first round. NBA basketball odds makers can get caught for a little while but eventually they do catch up. Now that the Zig-Zag theory is extremely well known, and has been for years, the profitability versus NBA odds is gone. What you must remember about the theory now is that you must pick your spots more carefully versus NBA odds. It was nice to be able to play every game but now you must also pay attention to situations and focus on all of the handicapping factors when looking at NBA odds.
What has happened in recent years is that the NBA is more top heavy. That has also reduced the value of the Zig-Zag theory versus NBA odds. You don’t get as many teams that will bounce back after a loss. That is not good for the theory versus NBA basketball odds. If games are becoming more one sided that is big problem for the theory. Usually the first rounds were gold with this theory but that has not been the case of late versus NBA odds. You will definitely want to do more handicapping versus NBA odds and pay attention to situations when using the Zig-Zag theory in the future.