NBA Atlantic Division Off-Season Grades
Basketball Betting Lines
07/30/2010 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Division had only one team finish
with a winning record last season (Celtics), and although some members have
improved since then, it looks like it will be pretty weak once again. Let's
take a look at how each has fared in the attempt to upgrade their rosters.
CELTICS: Boston kept its "Big Four" intact by re-signing free agents Paul
Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics did lose a valuable bench player to free
agency with Tony Allen signing with the Grizzlies. Another key sub may not
return, as the C's await Rasheed Wallace's decision on whether he'll remain
retired. Boston signed free agent Jermaine O'Neal to bolster its front line,
which will help with Kendrick Perkins being sidelined to at least December as
he recovers from major knee surgery. O'Neal is more of an offensive threat than
Perkins, but the Celts will miss his physical presence. In the draft, the
Boston picked up guard Avery Bradley and power forward Luke Harangody. Even
though Harangody was a second round pick, he may be more ready to step in and
contribute this season following a very impressive showing in the summer
league.
KNICKS: Team president Donnie Walsh stripped his roster down to almost nothing
over the last two years to get under the salary cap, in hopes of striking free
agent gold this summer. What he ended up with was some nice bronze and two
straight horrible seasons. Free agent Amar'e Stoudemire was glad to come to New
York for a guaranteed $100 million dollars. The only problem was none of his
fellow big-ticket free agents wanted to do the same. Point guard Raymond
Felton, also a free agent, did opt to join Stoudemire in the Big Apple, signing
a three-year contract. Walsh did manage to get some useful pieces for free
agent David Lee, as he sent him to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade for Anthony
Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, and Ronny Turiaf. The Knicks had two second-round
draft picks, and came away with small forward Landry Fields and guard Andy
Rautins. Fields showed some promise in the summer league, while Rautins may be
even a worse pick than Jordan Hill was last season. The end result for the
Knicks was they got rid of eventual All-Star Zach Randolph and sixth-man-of-
the-year winner Jamal Crawford for Stoudemire and Felton. Not much of a trade-
off for two horrible seasons, if you ask me.
NETS: New Jersey had the third overall pick in the draft and selected power
forward Derrick Favors. He has a wealth of potential and tremendous
athleticism, but it's unlikely he'll have a big impact in his first season. The
Nets selected Damion James with the second of their two first-round picks.
James played very well in the summer league and may be more polished at this
point than Favors. The Nets also picked up some serviceable pieces in the free
agent market, signing point guard Jordan Farmar, small forward Travis Outlaw,
and shooting guard Anthony Morrow. Farmar gives the Nets a solid backup for
Devin Harris, while Outlaw and Morrow can both fill it up from the outside.
Grade: B
76ERS: The big addition was Evan Turner, the second overall pick in the draft.
He struggled in the summer league by his own admission, and you wonder how
effective he'll be having to play off the ball in the NBA. The Sixers made one
trade of note, sending the highly outsized contract of center Samuel Dalembert
to the Kings for center Spencer Hawes and small forward Andres Nocioni. Aside
from dumping a bad contract, Philly gets a big man in Hawes that is seven years
younger than Dalembert. However, the overall effect of the trade as far as
improving the team is likely to be minimal at best.
Grade: C
RAPTORS: Even though Toronto lost its All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to the
Heat via free agency, it actually wasn't a disastrous off-season for the
Raptors. Toronto got another lefty power forward in the draft's first round,
North Carolina's Ed Davis. He's still very raw and will take time to develop,
but the Raptors potentially got themselves a good replacement for Bosh with the
13th overall pick. The Raptors made two free agent signings of their own,
inking small forward Linas Kleiza to a very reasonable four-year, $18.4 million
dollar deal, and a somewhat unreasonable five-year, $34 million dollar contract
to power forward Amir Johnson Kleiza played overseas last year, but was very
productive previously backing up Carmelo Anthony in Denver. Johnson earned his
hefty payday by averaging 6.2 ppg in nearly 18 minutes per game last season for
the Raptors. He does do some good work off the boards and provide a shot-
blocking presence, but has always had trouble staying on the floor due to
foul problems. Toronto also traded the disgruntled and disappointing Hedo
Turkoglu to the Suns for Leandro Barbosa. The Raptors had to be thrilled
getting a quality player like Barbosa in exchange for a player who didn't want
to be there and is four years older.
Grade: C+
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Frazier was hitti
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Red Sox a
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Ro
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
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Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
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