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Pistons welcome Kings to The PalaceBasketball Betting Lines02/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons have been showing signs of life recently and hope to keep things rolling against a Sacramento Kings team that normally struggles on the road. The Pistons won their second straight game and for the third time in four contests on Tuesday night when Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon each scored 18 points as Detroit snapped Milwaukee's seven-game home winning streak with a 93-81 decision at the Bradley Center. Jason Maxiell had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons. Richard Hamilton contributed 15 points for Detroit, which went ahead for good by scoring 16 in a row to end the opening quarter. "We moved the ball well, we got some easy baskets in the paint," Prince said. "We got to the foul line, hit our threes. We got good penetration. We just had contributions from everybody." The Kings, meanwhile, improved to 1-1 on a three-game road trip in New York last night when Tyreke Evans fueled an impressive fourth-quarter charge and netted two critical free throws with 4.9 seconds left in overtime, as Sacramento rebounded from a late 15-point deficit to upend the Knicks, 118- 114, at Madison Square Garden. Evans finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and scored 12 during a fourth-quarter spurt in which the Kings outscored the Knicks, 22-7, to tie the game at 105. Kevin Martin, who had 17 in the game, then scored the first nine Sacramento points of overtime to help the Kings snap their 11-game road losing streak. "We just never gave up, kept fighting," Evans said. "The main thing was that we kept pushing the ball, getting easy buckets and getting easy transition points." Donte Greene finished with 24 points and eight boards for Sacramento, which had lost six straight and improved to just 4-22 on the road this season. Omri Casspi had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Jason Thompson had 12 and 11. Detroit swept the home-and-home season series with the Kings a year ago.
<< Suns return home to host Blazers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns are back in the desert and will shoot for their sixth win in a row tonight, when they play host to the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center. The Suns have won five straight games and completed
<< Warriors try to stop skid vs. Clippers
<< Buckeyes bring act to Bloomington for Big Ten brawl with Hoosiers
<< Bulldogs seek upset of 19th-ranked Panthers
<< Lobos and Runnin' Rebels meet in clash of ranked MWC foes
Celtics open trek in New Orleans >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics kick off a five-game western road trip tonight, when they pay a visit to the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy. The Atlantic Division-leading Celtics will also take on the Kings, Lakers, Blazers
Magic make a stop in Chicago >>
Bobcats on the prowl in Minnesota >>
Streaking Jazz play host to banged-up Lakers >>
Heat pay a visit to Hawks >>
Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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