Cavs handle Pacers in Irving's return
Basketball Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyrie Irving came back from a three-game absence and scored 22 points, and the Cavaliers never trailed while earning a 98-87 victory over the shorthanded Pacers.
Irving, who suffered a concussion during a February 7 game at Miami when he was kneed in the head, also had five assists for Cleveland, which improved to 2-2 on its nine-game homestand.
Semih Erden set a career-high with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while Ramon Sessions and Antawn Jamison each netted 13 points in the win.
The Pacers, playing without Danny Granger (ankle), George Hill (ankle) and Jeff Foster (back), have lost a season-high five straight games. Darren Collison and Roy Hibbert led the way Wednesday with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Irving came out in mid-season form, hitting 5-of-6 from the field in the first quarter. Cleveland used the rookie's 12 points and a trio of three-pointers from Omri Casspi to build a 32-20 cushion.
The Pacers made just 5-of-20 from the field in the second quarter, which saw the hosts lead by as many as 21 when Daniel Gibson drained a three-pointer for a 46-25 cushion five minutes in.
Gibson sprained his ankle in the third quarter and did not return, but the Cavs never had their 56-38 halftime lead seriously threatened.
Despite shooting just 32 percent from the field in the third quarter, Cleveland held a 79-61 advantage heading to the fourth and led by double digits until the final minute.
Alonzo Gee's thunderous two-handed dunk with just under three minutes to go put the exclamation point on the lopsided decision.
Game Notes
Cleveland welcomes former first son LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Friday...The Pacers will open a three-game homestand versus the Nets on Thursday...The Pacers had won six straight against the Cavs, including an overtime win in Indianapolis on December 30...Indiana's David West had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but shot just 4-for-15 from the field.
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Gordon scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Detroit Pistons pulled away to take a 98-88 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Rodney Stuckey paced Detroit with 25 points and Gr
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10 rebounds powered No. 24 Wichita State to a 73-58 win over Missouri State
and a share of the MVC regular-season title on Wednesday.
Ben Smith had 14 points a
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to go with 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies utilized a seven-point run in
the game's final minutes to defeat the New Jersey Nets, 105-100, at Prudential
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Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tricia Liston scored 17 points off the bench and
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Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points and Haley Peters contribute
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Martin leads Rockets over Thunder >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 32 points, including the
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Luis Scola
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Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner led all scorers with 28
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Griner also ripped down 10 boards and turned away six shots,
Barnes, No. 8 UNC top Miami-Florida >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harrison Barnes had 23 points and six rebounds as
No. 8 North Carolina took a 73-64 win over Miami-Florida.
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Chris Kaman added a double-
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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