A number of insiders have made the point recently that the worldwide economic downturn is seriously affecting NBA attendance. Not so much the reported figures - but the reality in the arenas each night.

For the sports bettor, this means two things:

1) Home court advantage for the least popular teams is now worth less because their arenas will often be partially empty.

2) Against the marquee teams in the league - Boston, New York, Cleveland, Lakers - the empty seats will often be taken by fans of the road teams, further reducing home court advantage. In fact, ESPN reported that when Boston played in Denver on Monday, the place brimmed with so many Celtics fans that Carmelo Anthony angrily stormed off before Boston's blowout victory even concluded.

Takeaway action: Decrease the value you apply to poor drawing home teams in the NBA, especially against marquee teams, and especially for non-TV games Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night.