 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Magic blow out Hawks again for 3-0 leadBasketball Betting Lines05/08/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis hit four three-pointers and ended with a team-high 22 points, as the Orlando Magic once again dominated the Atlanta Hawks, 105-75, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. A return to Philips Arena, where they went 34-7 during the regular season, figured to give the Hawks a boost after they lost the first two games of the series by a combined 57 points in Orlando. But a lifeless crowd and Orlando's 50.7-percent shooting effort resulted in the 14th straight loss in conference semifinal games for the Hawks, who will try to avoid getting swept on Monday. No team in NBA history has ever recovered from a 3-0 series deficit. "It's very disappointing," Hawks head coach Mike Woodson said. "I figured we would come home and play at a high level and make a series out of it, but we were so flat coming out...I don't think anyone saw this coming." Dwight Howard recorded 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Magic, who have won 13 straight dating back to the regular season. Jamal Crawford had 22 points, while Josh Smith added 15 and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 34.9 percent from the field. All-Stars Al Horford and Joe Johnson totaled 11 and eight points, respectively, in the setback. Johnson, who is scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason, was particularly ineffective, making a mere 3-of-15 from the field. The Hawks shot 7-of-22 from the field in the first quarter and trailed 28-18 following a late Marcin Gortat dunk. Lewis hit a three-pointer less than four minutes into the second for a 38-22 edge, and ended the half with another uncontested three -- Orlando's fifth of the stanza -- for a comfortable 52-33 cushion. The break at halftime did little to ignite the downtrodden Hawks, who got as close as 18 in the third. Consecutive Lewis turnaround jumpers around the four-minute mark of the quarter extended the margin to 73-47, and it was 79-55 at the end of the frame. A 10-0 run -- capped by a Howard hook shot -- made it a 90-59 game early in the fourth and ended any hope of a miraculous comeback by the hosts. The largest differential was 32. "We were looking forward to a hard-fought game, but we came out and played hard defense and built a big lead," Lewis said. "We don't want to jump ahead of ourselves. We want to take it one game at a time. We're going to keep playing with a lot of intensity." Game Notes The Hawks are a dismal 0-13 all-time in conference semifinal series since the round was renamed as such in 1971...The two teams have met just one time previously in the postseason, a 4-1 Magic win in the 1995-96 Eastern Conference semifinals...Vince Carter was 2-of-5 from the field and had seven points for Orlando, which won the battle on the glass, 51-34...Matt Barnes added 11 points for the Magic.
<< Real Salt Lake makes Union pay for mistakes
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Beckerman and Jamison Olave took advantage of defensive mistakes by Philadelphia to score their second goals of the year, and Real Salt Lake beat the Union 3-0 on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Alvaro Sabo
<< Fredette to return to BYU for senior season
<< Toronto FC rolls to 4-1 win over Chicago
<< Liverpool rules out selling Gerrard, Torres
<< Donovan leads L.A. to 4-0 win over Seattle
Lille earns huge win over Marseille >>
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Debuchy scored in injury time to lead Lille to a 3-2 win over freshly-crowned champions Marseille on Saturday at the Stadium Lille Metropole. Marseille, which Wednesday secured its first French Ligue
Teixeira pounds three homers in Yankees' rout of Red Sox >>
Late Rogers' goal pushes Crew past New England >>
Karstens strong as Pirates blank Cards >>
Chicago's Peavy throws eight strong, snaps Toronto's streak >>
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. |
|
