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Celtics shoot for 13th straight win over lowly NetsBasketball Betting Lines02/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expect the Atlantic Division's remake of Beauty and the Beast this afternoon as the first place Boston Celtics host the cellar- dwelling New Jersey Nets. The Celtics play the beauty is this version, having beaten the ugly-duckling Nets 12 straight times. A win this afternoon against New Jersey, which is a miserable 2-27 on the road and still on pace the challenge the NBA's worst team ever, the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, would give Boston a series sweep over the Nets for the third consecutive year. The C's are cruising toward another division title but stumbled in their last outing on Thursday against fellow Eastern Conference power Cleveland. LeBron James scored 36, and Mo Williams tallied 14 of his 19 points in the final quarter in that one, as the Cavaliers overcame a thumb injury to Shaquille O'Neal and surged in the second half for a 108-88 win over Boston in Beantown. Boston had beaten the Cavs nine straight times at home, including the playoffs. "You get the monkey off your back, don't look too far into it though," James said. "We played well enough to win, but we have another game tomorrow against Toronto and we hope to play the same way." Ray Allen had 21 points to lead the Celtics, who had won four of their last five games entering Thursday. Rajon Rondo contributed 19 points and 11 assists, while Kevin Garnett ended with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Boston played without star forward Paul Pierce, who missed his second straight game due to a sore right thumb. The Celtics missed him in a big way, as they went just 3-of-21 shooting in the last quarter. "We got everything we wanted," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I really thought the difference of the two halves was in the first half Cleveland played like us. The ball didn't move for them offensively; they were a one pass, shot offense. We were attacking and we were multiple pass, multiple pick In the second half, we became them and they attacked us." Pierce, who is also battling the flu, remains up in the air for this afternoon's game but it's doubtful Rivers will rush him back with New Jersey on the docket. The Nets nightmare season continued on Tuesday when Brandon Roy scored 28 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 27, as Portland washed away an ugly loss to Utah on Sunday with a 102-93 victory against New Jersey. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee both provided 28 points in yet another loss for the Nets, who set a new franchise-low with their eighth straight defeat at home Tuesday. Brook Lopez continued to be one of the team's lone bright spots in an otherwise lost season, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds. "They took advantage of our defense early on, got some transition buckets and the intensity wasn't there," said Harris. "We fought back, but you can't give a team that big of a head start."
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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook BettingNFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal. A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon." It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed. The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha. So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games." Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs. |
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