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Bruised and battered Celtics try to put Magic away againBasketball Betting Lines05/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic are halfway to history but their largest hurdle looms tonight as they try and stave off elimination yet again in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals with the Boston Celtics. The Magic, who are attempting to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit, have gotten back into the set with consecutive wins, the latest coming in Orlando on Wednesday. Jameer Nelson scored 24 points in that one as Orlando lived to see another day with a 113-92 win over Boston in Game 5, a contest in which the Celtics were beaten up badly. The Magic went 13-for-25 from three-point range. Nelson led the way by going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and Dwight Howard chipped in 21 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. "At this point we believe we can win the series," Nelson said. "But we have to stay humble and keep our focus and realize why we won these last two games and continue to do that. We have to force them to make changes like we've been doing." After being embarrassed in a 94-71 Game 3 loss, the Magic rallied and earned a 96-92 overtime win in Boston Monday night. Orlando is breathing despite stacked odds against the club. NBA teams are 93-0 in best-of-seven series when winning the first three games. However, one Boston team has already blown a 3-0 lead this postseason as the Bruins fell in seven games to the Flyers in the NHL's Eastern Conference semifinals earlier this month. Now the Celtics are possibly two losses away from the biggest collapse in NBA history. Only four times in major North American pro sports leagues has a team won a playoff series after losing the first three games. It has happened three times in the NHL and once in baseball, when the Boston Red Sox came back to beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series. "I would doubt that players would get affected by what happened in another sport," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I would have a hard time believing that. I don't think most of our guys on any of our teams follow hockey very much." In what may have been the final game for the Magic at Amway Arena on Wednesday, last year's Eastern Conference champions made it known they weren't going down without a fight. Orlando also received 14 points from Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick. "It was our best offensive night of the series," Van Gundy said. "Obviously, Game 6, we will need to be even better at both ends. We have a huge challenge in front of us, but it's a challenge we worked hard to get to." Rasheed Wallace led the way for Boston with 21 points, but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Boston struggled immensely in the second half, going 14-of-34 from the field. Wallace and Rajon Rondo combined for 24 points in the final two quarters. The rest of the team had just 19 points. Kevin Garnett was limited to 10 points for the game. Paul Pierce ended with 18 points, but had just two in the second half. He also took a hard fall to the floor after being corralled by Howard in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Celtics starting center Kendrick Perkins was ejected in the final minute of the second quarter after picking up his second technical foul. It was Perkins' seventh technical foul of the playoffs, meaning an automatic suspension for Game 6. However, the NBA rescinded the second technical foul issued to Perkins on Thursday, meaning he will be eligible to play tonight. "Well, obviously, I'm happy about it," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I'm a little disappointed that both technicals were not rescinded. I thought they both should have been, and I'm very surprised that they're not. But I'll take the one and hopefully we can keep working on the other one." Additionally, Celtics forward Glen Davis suffered a concussion in the closing seconds of the third quarter after receiving an elbow to the face from Howard. Boston swingman Marquis Daniels also suffered a concussion in the fourth. "Our intent is not to hurt anybody out there, but basketball is a very physical sport," Howard said. "We're playing against a very physical, tough team in the Boston Celtics. Our biggest thing is not to just fight and wrestle with them, but like I tell these guys it's all mental. Right now we just have to will ourselves to try to get the job done." Davis is expected to be a game-time decision tonight while Daniels is less likely to play. Wallace is also hurting with a bad back and will also be a game-time decision. "[Davis] didn't have any headaches today. He had some last night, but didn't have any today, which is a big step," Rivers said of Davis. "I guess. And I think all of it will be a game-time decision, so we'll have to wait and see. "I would actually say right now [Daniels] probably will not be ready. But that will be a game-time decision, and Rasheed is doing better. [He] was not moving well at all today, but he's doing better. He said he felt a little bit better. and will be a game-time decision as well." For the first time in the set, it seems like the Magic have things going their way. Boston has never needed a sixth game after going up 3-0 in a series and the Celtics also had a 3-2 lead over Orlando in the East semis last year but dropped the final two games, including the first Game 7 loss at home in the franchise's storied history. "It's another closeout game on their home court," Lewis said. "I think the game will most definitely be the hardest game of the playoffs that we've ever faced. They will come out with a lot of energy and a lot of heart, and I'm sure they're not going to want to come back to Orlando." The Magic also won three of four games vs. the Celtics in the regular season this year and has taken both previous playoff matchups between the two franchises, last year's semifinals set and a first round win back in the 1994-95 season. Game 7 in the best-of-seven set, if necessary, will be Sunday back in Orlando.
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it. He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games. "Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote. He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games. Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk. Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible. Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines. Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy. With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season. Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas). And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.) The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors. While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger. Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under. One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it. Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami. What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5. That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well. MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple. "The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money. "At the end of the day, we liked the home team." So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams. In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish. MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover. The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing. Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed. MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash. To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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