NBA Atlantic Division Off-Season Grades
Basketball Betting Lines
07/30/2010 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Division had only one team finish
with a winning record last season (Celtics), and although some members have
improved since then, it looks like it will be pretty weak once again. Let's
take a look at how each has fared in the attempt to upgrade their rosters.
CELTICS: Boston kept its "Big Four" intact by re-signing free agents Paul
Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics did lose a valuable bench player to free
agency with Tony Allen signing with the Grizzlies. Another key sub may not
return, as the C's await Rasheed Wallace's decision on whether he'll remain
retired. Boston signed free agent Jermaine O'Neal to bolster its front line,
which will help with Kendrick Perkins being sidelined to at least December as
he recovers from major knee surgery. O'Neal is more of an offensive threat than
Perkins, but the Celts will miss his physical presence. In the draft, the
Boston picked up guard Avery Bradley and power forward Luke Harangody. Even
though Harangody was a second round pick, he may be more ready to step in and
contribute this season following a very impressive showing in the summer
league.
KNICKS: Team president Donnie Walsh stripped his roster down to almost nothing
over the last two years to get under the salary cap, in hopes of striking free
agent gold this summer. What he ended up with was some nice bronze and two
straight horrible seasons. Free agent Amar'e Stoudemire was glad to come to New
York for a guaranteed $100 million dollars. The only problem was none of his
fellow big-ticket free agents wanted to do the same. Point guard Raymond
Felton, also a free agent, did opt to join Stoudemire in the Big Apple, signing
a three-year contract. Walsh did manage to get some useful pieces for free
agent David Lee, as he sent him to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade for Anthony
Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, and Ronny Turiaf. The Knicks had two second-round
draft picks, and came away with small forward Landry Fields and guard Andy
Rautins. Fields showed some promise in the summer league, while Rautins may be
even a worse pick than Jordan Hill was last season. The end result for the
Knicks was they got rid of eventual All-Star Zach Randolph and sixth-man-of-
the-year winner Jamal Crawford for Stoudemire and Felton. Not much of a trade-
off for two horrible seasons, if you ask me.
NETS: New Jersey had the third overall pick in the draft and selected power
forward Derrick Favors. He has a wealth of potential and tremendous
athleticism, but it's unlikely he'll have a big impact in his first season. The
Nets selected Damion James with the second of their two first-round picks.
James played very well in the summer league and may be more polished at this
point than Favors. The Nets also picked up some serviceable pieces in the free
agent market, signing point guard Jordan Farmar, small forward Travis Outlaw,
and shooting guard Anthony Morrow. Farmar gives the Nets a solid backup for
Devin Harris, while Outlaw and Morrow can both fill it up from the outside.
Grade: B
76ERS: The big addition was Evan Turner, the second overall pick in the draft.
He struggled in the summer league by his own admission, and you wonder how
effective he'll be having to play off the ball in the NBA. The Sixers made one
trade of note, sending the highly outsized contract of center Samuel Dalembert
to the Kings for center Spencer Hawes and small forward Andres Nocioni. Aside
from dumping a bad contract, Philly gets a big man in Hawes that is seven years
younger than Dalembert. However, the overall effect of the trade as far as
improving the team is likely to be minimal at best.
Grade: C
RAPTORS: Even though Toronto lost its All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to the
Heat via free agency, it actually wasn't a disastrous off-season for the
Raptors. Toronto got another lefty power forward in the draft's first round,
North Carolina's Ed Davis. He's still very raw and will take time to develop,
but the Raptors potentially got themselves a good replacement for Bosh with the
13th overall pick. The Raptors made two free agent signings of their own,
inking small forward Linas Kleiza to a very reasonable four-year, $18.4 million
dollar deal, and a somewhat unreasonable five-year, $34 million dollar contract
to power forward Amir Johnson Kleiza played overseas last year, but was very
productive previously backing up Carmelo Anthony in Denver. Johnson earned his
hefty payday by averaging 6.2 ppg in nearly 18 minutes per game last season for
the Raptors. He does do some good work off the boards and provide a shot-
blocking presence, but has always had trouble staying on the floor due to
foul problems. Toronto also traded the disgruntled and disappointing Hedo
Turkoglu to the Suns for Leandro Barbosa. The Raptors had to be thrilled
getting a quality player like Barbosa in exchange for a player who didn't want
to be there and is four years older.
Grade: C+
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Tigers hope to stop road skid in clash with Red Sox >>
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the American League Central. Tonight, they try to put the brakes on their 10-
game road losing streak when they open a three-game series against the Boston
Red Sox a
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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