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Rested Lakers, Suns begin West finals at Staples CenterBasketball Betting Lines05/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers must have thought they were getting paid by the hour in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The result was a pair of sweeps with the Suns besting their long-time nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs, and the defending NBA champion Lakers handing their annual shellacking to the Utah Jazz. The Pacific Division rivals are now on a collision course for conference supremacy as the West finals get underway at Staples Center tonight. Steve Nash could barely see from his right eye after being stitched up eight days ago, but the veteran point guard scored half of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns beat San Antonio, 107-101, to sweep their Western Conference semifinal set. "I think the great thing about us this year is we have the close out instinct," All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire said. "We treated Game 4 as if it was the first game of the series." Phoenix, which has never captured an NBA title, is in the conference finals for the first time since 2006, when the Suns lost to the Dallas Mavericks. Phoenix hasn't made it to the NBA Finals since 1993 when they fell in six games to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. Meanwhile, Nash, a former two- time NBA MVP, has played in 112 career postseason games without reaching The Finals, the most in NBA history without the chance to play for a championship. Nash took an inadvertent elbow above his right eye from a driving Tim Duncan midway through the third quarter in Game 4 of that series but should be fine tonight after over a week of rest. The Lakers dispensed of the Jazz a day after the Suns advanced when Pau Gasol poured in 33 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, as Los Angeles continued its march in a quest to repeat as NBA champions with a 111-96 win over Utah. Kobe Bryant added 32 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who will be appearing in their third straight Western Conference final and are attempting to become the first repeat league champions since they won three in a row (2000-02) with teams fueled by Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Bryant scored at least 30 points in every contest against the Jazz but Gasol was the catalyst in Game 4, going 12-of-18 from the field. "We're improving as every game goes by," Gasol said. "That's something that is really satisfying. I'm looking forward to the next series." The sweep of the Jazz came after the Lakers were pushed to a tough six-game series win over Oklahoma City in the first round. On the injury front for the Lakers, Bryant got plenty of time to rest a balky ankle and arthritic finger but center Andrew Bynum continues to struggle with a small tear in the meniscus of his right knee. The big man claimed the injury was only getting worse after practice on Saturday but will play. "It's something where I'll have to continue getting treatment and pump the swelling out," Bynum said. Bynum's counterpart, Suns center Robin Lopez is expected to make his playoff debut tonight. The 7-footer hasn't played since March 26 due to a bulging disk in his back that pinched a nerve and caused a loss of strength in his right leg. LA won three of four games vs. Phoenix in the regular season and won the Pacific Division by three games over the Suns. "We're going to have to have a sustained effort from our bench to give us a little bit of support," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of the upcoming matchup. "The Suns are a run-and-gun team. They generate a lot of points and you have to run with them to stay in the game." In the postseason, the clubs have a long and storied history, meeting 11 times dating back to the 1969-70 season. The Lakers have won seven of those series but the Suns have rebounded to take four of the last five playoff sets between the two teams after dropping the first six. Phoenix has also taken the last two postseason matchups between the clubs, first round series in 2005-06 and '06-07. LA and Phoenix have met twice previously in the Western Conference finals with the Lakers winning both, in 1984 and 1989. "(The Suns) play extremely well and are playing with a lot of confidence," Gasol said. "It's going to be a tough series."
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Betting the NFL preseasonRule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games." When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night. The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine. “I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.” The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark. “We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.” The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long. “It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.” Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play. “You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt." So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps? “Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says. Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins. Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet. Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter. “If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says. Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider. The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason. “We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003. Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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