Spurs shoot for 16th straight win over Clippers
Basketball Betting Lines
03/13/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are quite a few rivalries in the NBA but don't count
the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers among them.
A rivalry generally contains a little give-and-take or back-and-forth. When
the Spurs and Clippers get together, it's as one-sided as it gets. San Antonio
shoots for its 16th straight win in the series tonight when they play host to
the Clips in the Alamo City.
LA hasn't beaten the Spurs since a 91-83 triumph in Hollywood on Dec. 1, 2003
and has lost 23 of the past 24 games in the series, including 14 consecutive
in San Antonio.
In fact, the Clippers' 15-game skid against San Antonio is the league's
longest current drought against a single opponent and LA has never won in the
AT&T Center.
The Spurs, who currently stand seventh in the Western Conference standings,
continued their march to the postseason last night with a 103-85 rout in
Minneapolis. Richard Jefferson and George Hill each scored 19 points in that
one as San Antonio beat Minnesota for the 11th straight time.
Tim Duncan posted 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs, who won for the
fifth time in six games.
Jefferson had nine boards and Hill dished out eight assists for San Antonio,
which hasn't lost to the Timberwolves since January 3, 2007. Hill started in
place again for Tony Parker, who sat out his third straight contest with a
broken right ring finger.
"We know he's a very capable scorer," San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said of
Hill. "We've been doing it behind Tony a lot of games. Now he's taking over,
playing more minutes. He's playing with more confidence."
The Clippers, meanwhile, dropped their sixth straight game in Charlotte on
Friday after Stephen Jackson poured in 14 of his 24 points in the fourth
quarter while dishing out six assists, as the Bobcats continued their stellar
play at home with a 106-98 victory over Los Angeles.
Baron Davis finished with 24 points, seven assists and five steals for the
Clippers, who have dropped nine straight on the road to fall to 7-27 as the
guest this season.
"We couldn't get stops, turnovers," said Davis. "We just have to play better
together that's all. On the defensive end and the offensive end."
Rasual Butler chipped in 18 points, while Travis Outlaw and Drew Gooden each
tallied 16 points. Chris Kaman added 13 points and 11 boards for Los Angeles.
<< Nuggets press on without Karl in Memphis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets continue their push to the postseason
without head coach George Karl tonight against a desperate Memphis Grizzlies
team.
The Nuggets played without Karl, who is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
to
<< Surging Magic continue push towards postseason, visit Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The lowly Washington Wizards will continue playing out the
string tonight when they host Eastern Conference power Orlando.
The Wizards lost their sixth straight game last night in Auburn Hills when
Will Bynum provided a sp
<< Hawks welcome Pistons to Dixie
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff bound Atlanta Hawks return to the cozy confines
of Philips Arena Saturday to take on a Detroit Pistons team headed for the NBA
Draft Lottery.
The Hawks salvaged the finale of their recent three-game road trip o
<< Blackhawks visit Flyers in afternoon clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the top teams in the Western Conference will head to
the East Coast today as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Philadelphia Flyers
for an afternoon battle at Wachovia Center.
The Blackhawks have 93 points on the year
<< Panthers shoot for rare victory over Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida needs all the victories it can muster from now
until the end of the season to even have a chance at making the playoffs. The
Panthers could have a tough time getting a win today, when they visit the
mighty San Jose Sh
Mavs aim to push win streak to 14 vs. Knicks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Dallas Mavericks will try to stretch their
season-high winning streak to 14 games tonight when they resume a four-game
homestand against the woeful New York Knicks.
Dallas kept its longest winning streak of the
Raptors resume road trip in Oakland vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors haven't been playing like a team headed
towards the postseason and will resume a four-game road trip Saturday night
against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
Toronto is currently eighth in the Easte
Habs and Bruins square off as playoff hopefuls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens look to further their playoff
chances and defeat Boston for the fifth time in six meetings this year tonight
at the Bell Centre, while the Bruins hope to strengthen their hold on the
Eastern Conference'
Devils visit Islanders with first place in sight >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to move into a first-place
tie in the Atlantic Division this evening when they take on the New York
Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
The Devils picked up their second victory in a row last night
Coyotes hit the road to take on Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will play their first road game in just
over a month this evening when they kick off a four-game swing versus the
Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.
The Coyotes are among the league leaders with 25 home
MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.
What Is the Point Spread?
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
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.
|