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Sixers shoot for season-high 5th straight win vs. WolvesBasketball Betting Lines02/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Minnesota and Philadelphia got together the Sixers blew a 20-point lead en route to an overtime loss. The 76ers will try to maintain any sort of advantage tonight, when they try to extend their season high winning streak to five games versus the Timberwolves at the Wachovia Center. The 108-103 overtime setback at the Target Center back on January 18 lifted Minnesota to a 5-2 mark in the past seven matchups in this series. The Sixers, however, have won two in a row and six of eight matchups between the teams in the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia made it four straight wins with Saturday's 102-95 victory at Houston, as Andre Iguodala ended with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and hit a big three-pointer down the stretch to lead the way. Thaddeus Young netted a team-high 17 points, while Willie Green and Elton Brand chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Sixers, who will try to stop a two-game slide as the host Tuesday. "We're in a good groove. Hopefully we can bottle it up," Sixers guard Lou Williams said. Williams, who had nine points in the victory, is questionable for tonight's game due to a sinus infection. Veteran guard Allen Iverson is also questionable because one of his children is ill and has missed three consecutive games for the 76ers, who are 8-16 as the host and 12-9 since opening the campaign with a 7-22 mark. Minnesota is also riding a four-game winning streak and has scored 100 or more points in each of those contests. In Saturday's 109-102 victory versus the Memphis Grizzlies in the Twin Cities, Ryan Gomes scored 26 points and Al Jefferson added 23 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who last won four in a row during a five-game streak from January 2-10, 2009. Ramon Sessions contributed 19 points off the bench. "We showed a different side of us tonight," Jefferson said. "I think we really surprised ourselves." Corey Brewer had 17 points in the victory. The T'Wolves sport a 4-21 road mark this season and shot 55.6 percent in Saturday's win. It was their second-highest percentage of the season and the fourth straight game they've reached the 50 percent mark.
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Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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