Nuggets aim to stay hot vs. Raptors
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Denver Nuggets aim for a sixth straight win
tonight when they host a Toronto team that expects to be without leading
scorer Andrea Bargnani.
The Nuggets are fresh off a brilliant 5-0 road trip that was capped with a
122-93 blowout win in Sacramento on Wednesday. Danilo Gallinari led seven
players in double figures with 23 points in that one as Denver recorded its
first perfect five-game trek since joining the NBA prior to the 1976-77
season.
Gallinari, who signed a contract extension earlier Wednesday, went 8-of-12
from the field and added five assists. Nene notched 16 points and Andre Miller
had 15 and 10 assists.
"We made a point not to settle for jumpers because that is a team that's
struggling defensively with their identity," said Nuggets forward Al
Harrington. "There were so many open things, so we just tried to pick one of
them and really attack and that was the rim."
Denver's ultra-quick point guard Ty Lawson left in the second quarter against
the Kings after spraining his left ankle and is expected to miss tonight's
game. He hopes to return Sunday against the LA Clippers.
Denver, which is 6-2 at the Pepsi Center this season, will finish a quick two-
game homestand against the Clips.
The Raptors, meanwhile, are coming off back-to-back impressive road wins.
Toronto improved to 2-1 on a five-game trek on Wednesday when Bargnani and
Linas Kleiza, an ex-Nugget, scored 25 points apiece as the Raptors snapped a
12-game losing streak against the Utah Jazz with a 111-106 win in double-
overtime.
It was Toronto's first win in the series since December 22, 2004.
Bargnani, who played his second game after missing the previous six with a
strained calf, scored all of his points in regulation. He played 3:55 in the
first overtime before sitting the rest of the game after aggravating the
injury, however.
"This time it's bad," Bargnani, who is averaging 23.5 ppg this season, said.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be out for a while."
Jose Calderon knocked down a three-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining in
regulation for Toronto, tying the game, while Paul Millsap buried a three with
3.0 seconds left in the first overtime to knot the contest for Utah.
The back-breaker in the second overtime was Calderon's three-pointer from 10
feet behind the arc to beat the shot clock, giving Toronto a six-point lead
with 86 seconds left.
It was the second time in two days that the Raptors snapped a long losing
streak to another team. They beat Phoenix, 99-96, in Bargnani's return on
Tuesday for their first win over the Suns since February 10, 2004.
DeMar DeRozan scored 17 for Toronto, Leandro Barbosa added 13 and Calderon had
12.
"Everybody that got on the court tonight contributed and fought to win a
double-overtime game," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey.
Toronto, which has lost eight straight and 13 of 14 vs. Denver, hasn't won
three consecutive on the road since Dec. 11-18, 2007. The Raptors have dropped
seven in a row and nine of 10 contests in the Rockies.
<< Blazers welcome Suns to Rip City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blazers haven't been much of a threat away from Rip
City this season but things have been far different when they are hitting the
hardwood in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland will shoot for its sixth straight win a
<< Thunder, Warriors collide in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Western Conference-leading Thunder will kick off a
three-game road trip tonight when they visit Oakland to take on the Golden
State Warriors.
The Thunder (15-3) won their third straight game and for the 11th
<< Improved Pacers try to pass another test in Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers try to follow up their biggest win of
the season tonight when they head to Boston to face the Celtics at TD Garden.
Indiana picked up a big win over the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls
on Wednes
<< Magic try to rebound against Hornets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For three quarters last night it appeared the Orlando Magic
had erased all the memories of their worst shooting performance in franchise
history in a rematch with the Boston Celtics.
But a lousy final period sent the Magic
<< Wizards try to pick up road victory in Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards have had trouble the past two
seasons playing well on the road and look to avoid an 0-8 start as the guest
tonight against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
The Wizards will play two straight
Mavs hope to rebound with Jazz in town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celebrations don't seem to be agreeing with the Dallas
Mavericks and the reigning NBA champs are probably glad they can put the
ceremonies in the rearview mirror as they get ready to host the Utah Jazz.
The Mav
Cavs and Nets meet at The Q >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have yet to win consecutive games this
season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have done it just once.
Both teams will be trying to put together win streaks this evening at Quicken
Loans Arena.
The Nets have
Bogut-less Bucks visit Bulls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been a season of frustration for Bucks center Andrew
Bogut and his latest setback will keep him out of action indefinitely. That
leaves Milwaukee a big hole in the middle this evening as it visits a Chicago
Bulls club
Wolves welcome Spurs to the Twin Cities >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to snap a 16-game
losing streak to the San Antonio Spurs when the two clubs met in early January
and shoot for a rare win streak in the series tonight at the Target Center.
The Timberwo
Sixers try to bounce back vs. bumbling Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from a rare loss
at home this evening when they welcome the hapless Charlotte Bobcats to the
Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia lost for only the second time in 10 tries in front of
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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