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Up 3-0, Suns writing the book on playoff rebirthBasketball Betting Lines05/08/2010 - SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Hungry after taking a 3-0 lead on the San Antonio Spurs with a fifth straight playoff win, the Phoenix Suns ate dinner early Saturday at one of the few places they could find open. ``Hard Rock,'' Grant Hill said. ``We didn't have many options that late.'' At least they firmly control what really matters. The Suns returned to the AT&T Center for practice Saturday every bit as relaxed as the night before, when general manager Steve Kerr was comparing Goran Dragic with Michael Jordan and Phoenix left with its most commanding playoff series lead in five years. Steve Nash lounged courtside. Amare Stoudemire shot jumpers in fashionably geek, Elvis Costello-like glasses. Hill revealed that he spoke with NBA commissioner David Stern about writing a book, something along the lines of Bill Bradley's ``Life on the Run.'' He's now got a better read in mind: these Suns, so close to dealing Stoudemire at midseason and starting over, now sitting a victory from ousting their longtime playoff nemesis and reaching the Western Conference finals. ``What's happened this season, and the things that we've gone through, and how special and unique this team is?'' Hill said. ``It should have been documented. I'm still kicking myself.'' And the Spurs? They were across town, sullen and frustrated and mulling what history says will be the final chapter written about them this season. No team in the NBA playoffs has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Tim Duncan has been in this position only once before heading into a Game 4, in the 2001 West finals. The Los Angeles Lakers wound up womping San Antonio by 29 points. Only a week ago were the Spurs being hailed as perhaps the best No. 7 seed in NBA history after impressively dumping Dallas in six games. Now they are looking like, well, like just about every other seventh seed in NBA history. On the eve of Sunday night's Game 4 in San Antonio, coach Gregg Popovich still had a sense of humor after the Spurs emerged Saturday from their film session - which likely starred a backup, unheralded Suns guard shredding them for 23 points in the fourth quarter. ``Didn't you see the guys come out of there cheering?'' Popovich joked. ``Some were crying, some were cheering. It was very emotional.'' Tony Parker came out OK, albeit sore. He had X-rays taken on his lower back after several hard falls in a rough return to the starting lineup Friday night. He'll play in Game 4. ``Everybody's surprised,'' said Parker, who scored just 10 points in Game 3 after averaging 23 in the first two games. ``We played very good against Dallas. Now we're in a bad situation.'' Hill remembers the Suns having that feeling just three months ago. It was during the All-Star break, when Stoudemire put his chances of being traded at 50-50 and the Suns started pulling out of a two-month tailspin. Going into the break having won five of six, Hill retreated to Cabo San Lucas with his wife and kept his fingers crossed. ``It was almost like, 'I hope they don't blow this team up,''' Hill said. ``Because I feel like whatever it is, we discovered it. We figured out that formula.'' Kerr said that feeling was universal. ``We had a pretty good thing going,'' Kerr said. ``We weren't playing great at the time, but that's why I maintained all along it was going to take something really good for us to break up the team.'' Had that happened, Stoudemire wouldn't be on the brink of beating the Spurs in the playoffs for the first time in five tries since 2003. Not that the Suns are getting ahead of themselves. ``Somebody said it's 88-0 when you're 3-0,'' Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. ``You know what, there's also a situation where a man didn't walk on the moon until 1969.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Diamondbacks activate OF Jackson
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks activated outfielder Conor Jackson from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday and optioned outfielder Gerardo Parra to Triple-A Reno. Jackson had been on the DL since Apri
<< Sizemore, Tigers take opener of shortened series with Tribe
<< Blanco's HR in 11th gives Mets second straight late-inning win
<< Nats edge Marlins
<< Sizemore, Tigers take opener of shortened series with Twins
Blackhawks shoot for series win >>
CHICAGO (AP) -The Vancouver Canucks are searching for their composure and a way to avoid losing in the Western Conference semifinals to the Chicago Blackhawks for second straight year.After dropping the series opener, Chicago has won three straight
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting. "They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over." Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.) According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26. As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines). Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday. Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind. *UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007 New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results. "We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games." While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season." About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.
Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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