The stretch drive of the NBA playoffs is underway, as sportsbook enthusiasts are in search of the best odds for all of the remaining teams. With back-to-back sweeps, the San Antonio Spurs appear to be the odds on favorite to win the NBA title. All 13 players to make up the Spurs roster have bought into coach Greg Popovich’s system. Thus, it got us thinking how much of an impact does good coaching have on a sports betting NBA Championship?

Often times the NBA is heavily criticized by fans of other sports as being a six-team race to the finals. While 16 teams make the playoffs every year, you can usually interchange six teams to be in the mix every year. The reason for this is a combination of good to excellent players, and good coaching. For instance, despite being the coach of the Miami Heat, Erik Spolstra is never put in the same category as Phil Jackson, or Greg Popovich. Meaning to say, the belief that a good team doesn’t necessarily need a good NBA level coach to get them to the final, is misleading at best.

Looking at the aforementioned Greg Popovich, we are seeing, that good coaches often impact their team’s capability to win the NBA title. Popovich has won four Championships, with the trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker. However, Popovich has shown, that it isn’t just about satisfying his three stars, as no player is bigger then the team. Entering the Western Conference Finals winning their first eight games of the playoffs indicates that it isn’t the big three that are contributing, but rather the entire roster. With Popovich having everyone buy into his system, the Spurs are directly feeling the successful impact of a very good coach.

One of the many questions we receive from our sportsbook readers, is what goes into making a player or team good enough to win an NBA title? In theory, most basketball rosters only need one or two star players and a ton of depth, to assure that they have a long playoff run, and win the championship. For instance, last season, the Dallas Mavericks had one star in Dirk Nowitzki, but enough depth, that a long playoff run could lead to a championship parade. This year, the Miami Heat appears to be ready for another title run.

As we noted above, the sports betting online requirement for a team to become a champion is to have at least one star player and a ton of depth. For the Miami Heat, they have not one, but three of the top 20 players in the league, in LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Along with the “Big Three” is a plethora of depth players, that each has a clear cut role. While Bosh’s offense has dried up, he is the commander of one of the strongest defenses in the NBA. Meanwhile, James and Wade appear more determined then last season to make it back to the Finals, and win the biggest prize in the association.

Another important factor to ‘getting over the hump’ is to be less predictable then your opponent. As we venture through the first three playoff rounds, it is easy to find patterns that every team creates, and make a defensive strategy. In theory, with three stars on the same team, the Heat should never have this problem. This year’s squad has a deeper bench, but as the games become more important, you will see more of the ‘Big Three’ playing together. What this should mean is less predictability and more opportunity to hit clutch shots and win the NBA title.