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02/23/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Basketball fans will receive a nice treat before the NBA All-Star break with tonight's matchup between two of the league's best, as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder play host to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers from Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Thunder share the NBA's best record with the Miami Heat at 26-7 and have won 11 in a row at home, where they are 14-1 this season. The Thunder are averaging 107.9 points per game during their home winning streak and last won 12 straight as the host twice under head coach George Karl during the 1997-98 campaign when the team resided in Seattle.
Oklahoma City will wrap up a five-game residency tonight and has won four straight overall and six of seven games, including Wednesday's 119-104 victory over the Boston Celtics thanks to 31 points, six assists and five rebounds from Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant did his part, as usual, with 28 points, nine boards, six assists and four steals for the Thunder, who made 50 percent of their shots and scored 24 points off 18 Boston turnovers.
"I thought in the first half we moved the ball extremely well," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "In the second half, we got the big lead and got a little sloppy."
Sloppy or not, the Thunder own a comfortable lead atop the Northwest Division standings and got 17 points apiece from James Harden and Daequan Cook. In Brooks' defense, his team almost blew a 26-point lead to New Orleans on Monday before watching a 27-point advantage vanish versus the Celtics. Westbrook has been on fire over his last three games, averaging 34 ppg.
After hosting the Lakers in OKC, the Thunder will kick off a three-game road trip through Philadelphia, Orlando and Atlanta after the break.
Los Angeles has been dealing with off-the-court issues lately with trade rumors and players-only meetings, but that hasn't stopped the team from winning two straight and five of six games.
On a night Bryant struggled for 15 points on 4-of-15 shooting, Pau Gasol -- the subject of those trade rumors -- picked up the slack in last night's 96-91 win at Dallas with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"I thought our guys did a nice job of executing down the stretch," said Lakers coach Mike Brown. "I feel like offensively we're getting a little better, but right now our end of game execution isn't quite where I want."
Andrew Bynum finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher added 15 points for Los Angeles, which is one game behind the Clippers for Pacific Division supremacy. The Lakers didn't get a chance to play against former forward Lamar Odom due to a family issue. Odom was dealt to the defending NBA champion Mavericks in the offseason.
The Lakers are just 6-11 as the guest this season and will begin a three-game homestand versus the Timberwolves, Kings and Heat after the All-Star break. They took two of three meetings from Oklahoma City a year ago and have won 14 of the past 16 meetings between the teams.
LA is facing a dangerous Thunder team on the road, however, but has prevailed in seven of the previous eight matchups as the visitor in this series.
<< Orantes elected to Tennis Hall of Fame
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Spanish star Manuel Orantes
has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Orantes, who starred on the ATP World Tour in the 1970s and 1980s,
defeated a top-seeded
<< Hawks, Magic clash at Philips Arena
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have to be thrilled the All-Star break is
right around the corner and they're one of the teams that could use the rest.
Heading into this weekend's break won't be easy, however, with the Southeast
Divis
<< Heat try to halt the Lin-sanity
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat have received plenty of attention thanks to
a star-studded lineup. With a squad that tries to blow the opposition out of
the building on any given day, the Heat look to deflate the recent surge the
New Yor
<< Sharks aim to get on track versus Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling clubs will try to get back in the win
column tonight, as the San Jose Sharks visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for a
clash at Air Canada Centre.
The Sharks have been floundering on the road, posting a 1-4-
Hawkeyes and Badgers meet in Big Ten battle >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will look
to ground the Iowa Hawkeyes as they visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Big Ten
Conference action.
This will be the second encounter of this season and 155th in history
Cardinals and Bearcats collide in Queen City affair >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The tie for sixth-place in the Big East will
be broken tonight as the 17th-ranked Louisville Cardinals head to Fifth Third
Arena to battle the Cincinnati Bearcats.
This will be the 95th meeting in history be
14th-ranked Racers set sights on Tigers in Nashville >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Murray State Racers will try
to avenge their only loss of the season as they head to the Gentry Center to
battle the Tennessee State Tigers in a premiere Ohio Valley Conference
matchup.
TSU a
Bertuzzi given two-year extension >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings announced a two-year
contract extension for veteran forward Todd Bertuzzi on Thursday. The new deal
is worth $2.25 million per season.
The 37-year-old Bertuzzi is in the third seas
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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