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Durant, Thunder try and even series vs. LakersBasketball Betting Lines04/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The upstart Oklahoma City Thunder hope to deadlock their Western Conference quarterfinals series with the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers tonight. The Thunder got back in the set on Thursday when Kevin Durant scored 29 points and pulled down 19 rebounds, pacing Oklahoma City to a 101-96 win over the Lakers in Game 3. On a night Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks was handed the award as the league's top head coach, the Thunder garnered their first playoff win as a franchise since moving from Seattle. The last postseason triumph came in 2005 when the SuperSonics played San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals. Russell Westbrook tallied 27 points and eight rebounds in the win. He and Durant combined for 22 of Oklahoma City's final 23 points, and the Thunder defense held superstar Kobe Bryant to 2-of-10 shooting in the last period. Durant had a lot to do with that, guarding Bryant for most of that fourth quarter. "He missed some shots he'd normally hit," Durant said. "I was praying they'd bounce off the rim. I just tried to play my hardest, use my length to disturb his shot. My teammates did a great job helping me out." James Harden scored 18 points off the bench for the eighth-seeded Thunder. Bryant had 24 points and eight assists, but went just 10-of-29 from the field for the defending champs, who still hold a 2-1 series lead. Pau Gasol ended with 17 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out. Derek Fisher also scored 17 for the Lakers, who went 10-of-31 from beyond the arc. Despite the loss, Bryant (4,465) passed the legendary Jerry West (4,457) for first on the Lakers' all-time playoff scoring list. Andrew Bynum tallied 13 points and seven boards, while Ron Artest scored 11 in defeat as LA sent Oklahoma City to the foul line 34 times (27 makes), while the Lakers converted 10-of-12 at the charity stripe. "The key factor is the free throws," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They shot 41 percent, but we even shot better than they did. But you can't beat a team when you stick them on the line 34 times. That has to go with their aggressiveness." Last Sunday's Game 1 marked Oklahoma City's return to the playoffs for the first time since the then-SuperSonics won the Northwest Division back in the 2004-05 campaign. Since the NBA changed its playoff format in 1984, there have only been three occasions when a No. 8 seed has shocked a No. 1. The last time an eight topped a No. 1 was in 2007 when Golden State upended Dallas. Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday back in LA.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will try and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals tonight when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks at Bradley Center. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 27 points on Tuesday, while Jo
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two rookie standouts from 2009 meet early in their sophomore seasons tonight when the Toronto Blue Jays visit the Tampa Bay Rays for the middle contest of a three-game series at Tropicana Field. Lefty Ricky Romero was 13-9
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later. While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better. For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory. 1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season. 2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped. How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number. Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules. Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically. How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games). Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition. Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2. Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com. |
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