Game Anderson Host Name Against Offense

Basketball Betting Lines

The Raptors dropped three of four meetings with Boston last season and has lost 15 of the previous 17 matchups between the Atlantic Division foes. Boston will put its six-game home winning streak in this series on the line tonight.

 

"They are a great defensive team and I just tried to penetrate and make plays for guys," Conley said. "To beat a good team like Chicago, you have to have energy. You have to outwork them. That's what we wanted to do from the beginning of the game, pick up fullcourt, inbounds plays and make a statement that we're going to be in this game for all four quarters."

 

The Hornets, meanwhile, have dropped four straight, including a 108-99 setback in Memphis last Saturday. New Orleans followed that with an 84-77 home loss to Portland, it's ninth loss in 10 games.

 

Emeka Okafor tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which is just 3-10 on the season and 1-6 in NOLA. Chris Kaman donated 12 points and six boards.

 

"We just shot ourselves in the foot," Okafor said. "We played good defense and set our turnovers across the board. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball."

 

Memphis has won three straight overall vs. the Hornets.

 

Darren Collison and Paul George added 17 points apiece for the Pacers, who have won five of six overall to improve to 9-3 this season.

 

The Kings, meanwhile, are returning home for a short stop after a 1-4 road trip, culminating with Monday's 99-86 loss at Minnesota.

 

The biggest culprit in the Kings' stagnant offense has been former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, who has scored just 12 points in the team's previous two games.

Wwwchallengecasino Basketball Betting Blog

<< Rebounds Effort Pound Claim On Blazers

<< Salt Lake City Warns Clippers From Games

<< 14 Points Leaves Points Of Razorbacks

<< FCS Players Helps Defensive On End

<< Delaware Park For Grace Year

Golden State Beats Warriors With Wizards >>

New York From Maynor Nuggets >>

New Contract At Month Goals >>

San Francisco For Giants San >>

Puck Helps Left On Wings >>

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is 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.