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The Role of Fatigue in NBA Wagering Markets: The Surprising ‘‘Home Disadvantage Situation’’

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Ashman

    (Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, USA)

  • R. Alan Bowman

    (School of Management, Union Graduate College, Schenectady, NY, USA)

  • James Lambrinos

    (School of Management, Union Graduate College, Schenectady, NY, USA, lambrinj@uniongraduatecollege.edu)

Abstract

Factors related to the margin of victory in the National Basketball Association (NBA), in terms of both the actual margin of victory and the projected margin of victory as reflected in point spreads, have been analyzed in many studies. This study investigates whether the NBA wagering market appropriately accounts for the differences in team fatigue when setting point spreads. Prior studies have found that a key component of the well-documented home court advantage is rest. We find that, over a 19-year period, the home team performed poorly against the spread when playing the second of back-to-back games, while the visiting team had 1 or 2 days rest. This poor performance was magnified when the home team had traveled one or two time zones in an easterly direction between the back-to-back games.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Ashman & R. Alan Bowman & James Lambrinos, 2010. "The Role of Fatigue in NBA Wagering Markets: The Surprising ‘‘Home Disadvantage Situation’’," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(6), pages 602-613, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:11:y:2010:i:6:p:602-613
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002509357545
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2013. "Fatigue and Team Performance in Soccer: Evidence from the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship," IZA Discussion Papers 7519, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. R. Alan Bowman & James Lambrinos & Thomas Ashman, 2013. "Competitive Balance in the Eyes of the Sports Fan," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(5), pages 498-520, October.
    3. Greg Durham & Mukunthan Santhanakrishnan, 2012. "Point-Spread Wagering Markets' Analogue to Realized Return in Financial Markets," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(5), pages 554-566, October.
    4. Brian P. Soebbing & Pamela Wicker & Daniel Weimar & Johannes Orlowski, 2021. "How do Bookmakers Interpret Running Performance of Teams in Previous Games? Evidence From the Football Bundesliga," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(3), pages 231-250, April.
    5. Yoon Tae Sung & Scott Tainsky, 2014. "The National Football League Wagering Market," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(4), pages 365-384, August.
    6. Liam J. A. Lenten, 2016. "Mitigation of Perverse Incentives in Professional Sports Leagues with Reverse-Order Drafts," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 49(1), pages 25-41, August.
    7. Vincenzo Scoppa, 2015. "Fatigue and Team Performance in Soccer," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(5), pages 482-507, June.
    8. Mark W. Nichols, 2014. "The Impact of Visiting Team Travel on Game Outcome and Biases in NFL Betting Markets," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(1), pages 78-96, February.
    9. B. Jay Coleman, 2017. "Team Travel Effects and the College Football Betting Market," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(4), pages 388-425, May.

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