Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of a nine-game road trip and will continue the lengthy trek tonight against the Central Division-rival Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
The Bulls improved to 2-2 thus far on the road swing following Thursday's 105-102 victory over the New York Knicks behind Derrick Rose, who scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and added 13 assists and four rebounds. Rose was held to 18 points in a loss at Philadelphia the night before and has now scored 30-plus points in four of his last five games, averaging 30.6 ppg in that stretch. He had a season-best 35 points against Washington on Monday.
"I think the good teams in this league find ways to win games. Most nights if you can be consistent with your defense it gives you a chance to win if you are not shooting well. We were fortunate tonight because we were able to score. We have to continue to improve our defense," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver scored 16 points apiece, while C.J. Watson finished with 12 points and Joakim Noah added 10 and nine rebounds for Central Division-leading Chicago, which improved to 10-5 as the guest and won for the 12th time in its last 16 tries. The Bulls shot 52.7 percent for the game and were without forward Luol Deng (wrist) and guard Richard Hamilton (groin/thigh). Both players are day-to-day.
Chicago leads the NBA in road wins with 10. Oklahoma City and Indiana are each second with nine road victories.
The Bulls' nine-game road trip is the longest since the 1992-93 season, when they went 6-3 on a nine-game trek. In 1974-75, Chicago played a team-record 11 straight games away from home (7-4). It will also make stops in New Jersey, New Orleans, Charlotte and Boston.
Milwaukee is back at home after losing by an 88-80 score last night in Detroit and will play back-to-back games in Brew City. It is 7-2 as the host and got 20 points from Brandon Jennings.
Shaun Livingston had 14 points and Ersan Ilyasova chipped in nine and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who had won three in a row and six of eight games before shooting 35.1 percent from the floor at The Palace.
"Well we were terrible in every aspect of the game," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said. "There's no reason to sugarcoat, our effort was awful; total lack of focus and concentration."
The Bucks will try to extend their home winning streak to four games and will also welcome the Phoenix Suns to the Bradley Center.
Milwaukee lost a 107-100 decision at Chicago on Jan. 27 this season, as Rose poured in 34 points to lead the way. Jennings led Milwaukee with 25 points and seven rebounds. The Bulls have won five straight and eight of the past 11 meetings between the teams. Since the 2003-04 season, Chicago has gone 23-10 against Milwaukee.
These two teams have split the last six meetings at the Bradley Center. In 13 career games against the Bucks, Rose is averaging 20.5 ppg. Jennings is posting 13.0 points per game in seven career matchups with the Bulls.
<< A top-25 SEC showdown on tap in Gainesville
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 foes collide in Gainesville this
afternoon, as the 12th-ranked Florida Gators play host to the 25th-ranked
Vanderbilt Commodores in an SEC affair at the O'Connell Center.
Billy Donovan's Gators are p
<< Top-25 foes tangle in Tallahassee
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of top-25 teams meet up in
Tallahassee this afternoon, as the 21st-ranked Florida State Seminoles and
16th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers take care of some ACC business at the Donald L.
Tucker Center.
Le
<< Syracuse and St. John's meet in Empire State showdown
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Syracuse Orange square off
with the St. John's Red Storm this afternoon in a Big East Conference clash
from New York's famed Madison Square Garden.
Syracuse has won 22 of its first 23 games t
<< Rebels and Pokes duke it out in Mountain West showdown
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tied with San Diego State atop the Mountain
West Conference standings, the 11th-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels are again out
on the road this afternoon as they tangle with the Wyoming Cowboys at Arena
Auditorium in La
Pistons welcome Hornets to The Palace >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of also-rans get together tonight at The Palace of
Auburn Hills, where the Detroit Pistons will host the New Orleans Hornets.
The Hornets have lost four in a row and 13 of their last 14 games, including
Thursday
Knicks square off with Nets at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks will play their third game in as many
nights when they entertain the local New Jersey Nets Saturday at Madison
Square Garden.
The Knicks have lost the first two of back-to-back-to-back con
Mavs hit the road to Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps a change of scenery will bring different results
for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who will commence a three-
game road trip tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
The
Pacers try to stay hot vs. Magic >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will try to extend their season-high
winning streak to five games when they entertain the Orlando Magic tonight in
the opener of a modest two-game homestand.
Indiana has won four in a row and se
Is 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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting