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Suns return home to host Blazers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns are back in the desert and will shoot for their sixth win in a row tonight, when they play host to the Portland Trail Blazers at US Airways Center.

The Suns have won five straight games and completed a perfect four-game road trip with a 114-102 triumph Friday at Sacramento. Former two-time league MVP Steve Nash almost posted a triple-double with 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Amare Stoudemire contributed 30 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who got 16 points out of Jason Richardson.

"We are getting some momentum, but I think we are consistent. We are playing a little harder and a little sharper mentally, and our focus is better," Nash said. "It has given us confidence to stay with it. Before, I think we overanalyzed and thought too much. Sometimes, you make up for your mistakes by playing hard and being competitive. I think we have seen a better streak of that."

Grant Hill, Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic each had 10 points, as Phoenix used a 22-3 run in the third quarter to pull away. The Suns are fifth in the Western Conference standings and sport an 18-6 mark at home this season.

Portland just went 1-2 on a three-game homestand and is coming off Tuesday's 89-77 loss to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant poured in 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to stymie the Blazers, who were led by Andre Miller's 22 points, six assists and six rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge added a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Nicolas Batum donated 12 points for Portland, which has lost two straight and six of its last nine contests. Dante Cunningham came off the bench for 14 points.

"They did a great job of never letting me get clean looks at the basket," Aldridge said. "If I caught it, they double teamed me, tried to front and come baseline so we just tried to figure it out during the game but I never really got something going. It was tough. They forced us to go to somebody else tonight and they won the game."

The Blazers are 12-13 away from the Rose City this season and have lost nine straight trips to the Valley of the Sun. Portland defeated Phoenix, 105-102, back on December 17 in the Pacific Northwest, as Jerryd Bayless scored 29 points and Brandon Roy added 27.

Roy is out indefinitely with an injured hamstring.

Portland has won three straight over the Suns after losing the last 11 meetings.

<< Warriors try to stop skid vs. Clippers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With leading scorer Monta Ellis doubtful for tonight with a knee problem, it will be hard for the Golden State Warriors to put the brakes on their nine-game losing streak versus the division-foe Los Angeles Clippers at ORAC

<< Buckeyes bring act to Bloomington for Big Ten brawl with Hoosiers
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Ohio State Buckeyes invade Assembly Hall in Bloomington for this evening's Big Ten Conference clash with the Indiana Hoosiers. Ohio State has plenty of reason to enter this game with confidence,

<< Bulldogs seek upset of 19th-ranked Panthers
Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers hit the road this evening for a Missouri Valley Conference clash with the Drake Bulldogs. This season has been one of tremendous success for Northern Iowa, which is a

<< Lobos and Runnin' Rebels meet in clash of ranked MWC foes
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas is the site of tonight's Mountain West Conference showdown between the 15th-ranked New Mexico Lobos and the 23rd-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels. The two teams are current

<< Bears battle Cornhuskers in Big 12 tussle
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Baylor Bears invade Lincoln tonight to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big 12 affair at the Devaney Center. The Bears enter the game on a down note, as they were upended, 78-71, at Texas

Pistons welcome Kings to The Palace >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons have been showing signs of life recently and hope to keep things rolling against a Sacramento Kings team that normally struggles on the road. The Pistons won their second straight

Celtics open trek in New Orleans >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics kick off a five-game western road trip tonight, when they pay a visit to the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy. The Atlantic Division-leading Celtics will also take on the Kings, Lakers, Blazers

Magic make a stop in Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter will try to build off his recent impressive performance when he leads the Orlando Magic against the Chicago Bulls tonight in the opener of a quick road trip at the United Center. Carter poured in

Bobcats on the prowl in Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats will hit the road this evening to face the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. Charlotte put the brakes on a three-game losing streak with a 94-92 triumph versus the Washington Wizar

Streaking Jazz play host to banged-up Lakers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Kobe Bryant's injured ankle making all the headlines out West, the Utah Jazz have quietly ripped off nine straight wins. The Jazz hope to make it 10 in a row tonight, when they play host to the defending champio

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

    The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

    Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

    Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

    The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

    Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

    Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

    Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

    And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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