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Dragic's fourth-quarter heroics give Suns 3-0 series lead over SpursBasketball Betting Lines05/08/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goran Dragic was the unlikely difference- maker for the Suns, scoring 23 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to spark Phoenix to a 110-96 comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs for a stunning 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix essentially erased an 18-point first half deficit by the end of the third quarter and shot 15-of-21 over the final 12 minutes to put the Spurs on the brink of elimination in front of the AT&T Center crowd. Steve Nash, who sat idly on the bench during most of Dragic's heroics, added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the resounding win. Dragic finished 10-of-13 from the field and made all five of his attempts from behind the arc. "I don't know how many guys in the history of the game have had a quarter like that," Nash said of Dragic's performance. "I'm incredibly proud of him. We've been waiting for him to get confidence and in the flow of the game. Obviously he had that tonight. It was a pleasure to watch." Jason Richardson and Grant Hill chipped in 21 and 18 points, respectively, for the Suns, who shot 15-of-26 from three-point range. Manu Ginobili posted 27 points for the Spurs, who received 15 points and 13 rebounds from Tim Duncan and 12 and 10 from Antonio McDyess. The trio of Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson and George Hill combined to shoot 7-of-33 for 22 points in the devastating setback. On Sunday, San Antonio will try to avoid being swept in the postseason for the first time since the Lakers won all four games in their 2001 conference finals set. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series. Dragic, who scored a combined four points in the first two games of the series, opened the fourth quarter scoring with a jumper to give the visitors their first lead of the game, 73-72. The Suns made their next nine shots from the field, including Dragic's three- ball from the left corner while being fouled. His free throw made it 91-82 with less than seven minutes remaining. Another Dragic three with 4:33 to go pushed the margin to 98-84, and it was a double-digit game the rest of the way. Dragic, a second-round pick of San Antonio in the 2008 draft, put the finishing touches on his memorable night with a three just before the buzzer. "It was embarrassing," Ginobili said of the fourth quarter. "They were great and we were pretty poor defensively...It seemed like we just couldn't stop them. It was demoralizing." The Suns came out cold and found themselves down 28-19 after 12 minutes. An 11-2 run had the Spurs on top, 39-21, on Parker's turnaround jumper with a little more than 3 1/2 minutes played in the second. San Antonio, though, went the next five-plus minutes without hitting a field goal. The subsequent 15-3 run spurt, capped by an Amare Stoudemire dunk, cut the deficit to 42-36 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the half, which ended on a Ginboili jumper for a 50-44 Spurs lead. Phoenix never led in the third quarter, but a Dragic three and Richardson jumper in the final 1:05 got the Suns within 72-71 heading to the fourth. Game Notes San Antonio lost its 14th consecutive playoff game when surrendering 100 or more points...Parker started over Hill for the first time in the playoffs... The Suns haven't beaten San Antonio in the postseason since 2000...Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points off the bench for the Suns...Stoudemire had seven points and eight rebounds and did not play in the fourth quarter...Matt Bonner totaled 11 points for the Spurs, who shot 45.0 percent overall, compared to 53.2 percent for Phoenix...The Spurs have knocked the Suns out of the postseason four times since 2003.
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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. |
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