 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Celtics and Cavs return to Cleveland for pivotal Game 5Basketball Betting Lines05/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers return to Quicken Loans Arena tonight for the pivotal Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals set. The Celtics deadlocked the series on Sunday when Rajon Rondo carried Boston with a triple- double, finishing with 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists to lead the Celtics to a 97-87 Game 4 victory. Rondo joined Oscar Robertson (1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (1967) as just the third player in playoff history to have at least 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in a game. "He was absolutely sensational," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said of Rondo. "It was just an amazing effort. He's a point guard that has complete control of our team. We rely on him to win." Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen each scored 18 points for the Celtics, who rebounded from the worst home playoff loss in franchise history in Game 3 to send the series back to Cleveland knotted at two games apiece. Paul Pierce had another subpar game, scoring just nine points, but Tony Allen put in a 15-point effort off the bench to spark the victory. "I had a mind set to help the bigs on the boards, so I just tried to get as many as possible," Rondo said. "I was just trying to be aggressive." LeBron James logged 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists but also had seven turnovers for Cleveland, which was held without a field goal for the final 4:34 of the contest. Shaquille O'Neal and Antawn Jamison added 17 and 14 points, respectively, for the Cavs, who shot 29.4 percent over the final 12 minutes. "They went up really fast in that fourth quarter," James said. "They countered our aggression with speed to turn the game around." Many have questioned why Cavs coach Mike Brown hasn't given James a chance to check Rondo, at least for a stretch here and there. In Boston's two wins in the series, the ultra-quick point guard, who can take Mo Williams and Anthony Parker off the dribble at will, matched the franchise assist record with 19 assists in Game 2, and recorded the triple-double in Game 4. "(Rondo) is one of the toughest guys in the league to defend," All-Star point guard Chris Paul said on TNT earlier in the series. "Everyone always backs up, daring him to shoot. Then he comes at you full speed with those floaters in the lane." James certainly has the pure athletic ability and length to move over and torture an offensively limited player like Rondo, and now it looks like a desperate Brown may finally call his number. "We're going to give 'Bron an opportunity," Brown said on Monday. Rondo, who is averaging a LeBron-like 21.8 points, 13.0 assists and 8.3 rebounds in the series, took it in stride. "[James] is a great help defender so he's definitely going to be helping," Rondo said. "He's a good defender. [The Lakers] did that a couple of years ago when Kobe [Bryant] was checking me in the finals. So, I'm used to bigger guys guarding me the shot and challenging me late because of their wingspan. I really don't care. If he checks me, he checks me. It's not going to change the way we run our offense." The Cavs and Celtics split four games in the regular season while both clubs finished off their opening round opponents this year in just five games, as Cleveland dispensed of Central Division rival Chicago, and the Celtics sent the Miami Heat back to South Beach. The teams have met four times previously in the postseason dating back to the 1975-76 season when Boston won the Eastern Conference finals over the Cavs in six games. The C's also won a first round series over Cleveland in 1984-85, and in the East semis in 2007-08. The Cavs only win in the postseason over Boston came in the East semifinals during the 1991-92 season, also a seven- game set. The best-of-seven series continues in Boston for Game 6 on Thursday. The winner of the set will take on the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals.
<< Backup ND tight end arrested on marijuana charge
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Backup Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.Indiana state police say a trooper smelled marijuana after stopping a car Ragone was in 45 miles east of South Bend shor
<< Rangers top AL West despite injuries, distractions
<< Texans owner: More info needed on suspensions
<< Closing arguments set in ballplayer's shooting
<< AP set to re-vote awards given to Texans LB Cushing
Braves shoot for road series victory over Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves need a victory tonight to record just their second road series win of the season, as they continue a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. So far Atlanta's only road series win of
Phils' Halladay aims for seventh win in homecoming against Rockies >>
Diamondbacks send Haren to the hill versus Dodgers >>
Zito hopes to remain unbeaten as Giants begin set with Padres >>
Astros send Myers to hill in St. Louis >>
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later. While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better. For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory. 1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season. 2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped. How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number. Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules. Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically. How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games). Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition. Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
|
