Spurs continue Rodeo Road Trip in Philly
Basketball Betting Lines
02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs were able to get their annual Rodeo Road Trip off to a promising start, but must face a pesky Philadelphia 76ers squad that hasn't backed down from any team tonight at Wells Fargo Center.
San Antonio kicked off the nearly 8,000-mile trip with an 89-84 triumph in Memphis on Monday, as Tony Parker led the Spurs with 21 points and Tim Duncan recorded his team-high seventh double-double with 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Tiago Splitter added 14 points in a reserve role for the Spurs, winners in five straight.
"All our young guys are playing well. It's going to help us down the road," Parker said.
The Spurs are only 4-8 away from the Alamo City, but have improved tremendously on the road after losing there first five games there. They will also visit the Nets, Pistons, Raptors, Clippers, Jazz, Blazers and Nuggets on the nine-game trek. After starting the season with nine of 13 games at the AT&T Center, the Spurs are currently in the midst of playing 16 of 21 games on the road. San Antonio, which is on top of the Southwest Division, doesn't return home until opening a seven-game residency versus Chicago on Feb. 29.
Duncan, who also swatted a season-best five shots in Memphis, passed Charles Oakley with his rebounding effort against the Grizzlies and is one of the top-20 rebounders of all-time. The future Hall of Famer also recorded his second double-double in a row after he posted 13 points and 15 rebounds Saturday in a home win over Oklahoma City. He is averaging 18.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his last five games.
Philadelphia has turned heads so far in this condensed season and recorded its sixth win in seven tries with Monday's hard-fought 95-90 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of a three-game homestand.
The Atlantic Division-leading Sixers used a 14-2 run late in the game to erase an 86-79 deficit and received a big lift from reserve Lou Williams. Williams scored seven straight at one point during the spurt and finished with 24 points for the 76ers, who pushed their home record to 13-3 and were coming off of Saturday's road win at Atlanta. Jrue Holiday scored 13 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 in the win.
"That was an amazing win for us. I didn't know how we were going to battle through their size," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said. "Lou [Williams] got hot at the right time for us."
Collins' club, which is 5-3 against the West this season, had a season-low four turnovers, a floor record for any team since Wells Fargo Center opened back in 1996. The Sixers will close out the residency versus the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night. Sixers forward Elton Brand missed his second straight game with a sprained right thumb and is questionable for Wednesday.
Sixers center Spencer Hawes is doubtful with a sore Achilles.
Tonight, the Sixers are trying to win two straight over the Spurs for first time since sweeping the home-and-home series back in 2003-04 (11/14/03-1/3/04). San Antonio has lost four in a row at Philadelphia, last winning there Jan. 21, 2007 in a 99-85 decision.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is starting to find his groove again after missing time with a head injury. Hopefully the club's cross country road trip won't derail his momentum. Carolina begins its three-game journey ton
<< Bucks and Raptors meet at ACC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks try to avoid a fourth straight loss
this evening when they open a brief two-game road trip against the Toronto
Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The Bucks played hard on Tuesday to no avail, as they overcam
<< Clippers continue road trip in Cleveland minus Billups
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers eye a third straight win this
evening, but their thoughts may be with their fallen veteran, as they continue
a long road trip in Cleveland.
Los Angeles will be without Chauncey Billups for the rest
<< Motoring: Red Wings seek 18th straight home win vs. Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will put the NHL's longest home
winning streak since the mid-1970s on the line tonight, as they welcome the
Edmonton Oilers for a battle at Joe Louis Arena.
It's been over three months since the Red W
<< Penn State comes calling on No. 11 Michigan State
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten
Conference standings meet in East Lansing this evening, as the Penn State
Nittany Lions challenge the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin
Center.
P
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Staring at a two-week long road trip, the San Jose Sharks would love to pick up four big points before leaving the friendly confines of HP Pavilion. They'll look to accomplish step one of that plan this evening and extend
Nuggets entertain Mavs at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders mired in losing
streaks square off in the Rockies tonight when the Denver Nuggets play host to
the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.
The Nuggets dropped their third in a r
Heat and Magic battle for Sunshine State bragging rights >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since their heart-to-heart meeting among players and
coaches following a loss at Milwaukee last week, the Miami Heat haven't
suffered defeat and hope to continue that trend tonight against the Orlando
Magic in the opener of a
Blue Jackets sign Prospal for another season >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets signed veteran
forward Vinny Prospal to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday.
Prospal, who turns 37 later this month, leads the team with 24 assists and
ranks second w
Pistons and Nets kick off home-and-home set in Jersey >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only one of Detroit's six wins this season has come on the
road and the Pistons would like to change that as early as tonight, when they
pay a visit to the New Jersey Nets in the opener of a home-and-home set.
The Pistons
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.