Bobcats aim for franchise-record 7th straight win in Indy vs. Pacers

Basketball Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Charlotte Bobcats will try to stretch their winning streak to a franchise-high seven straight games tonight, when they take on the Indiana Pacers on the road at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Charlotte has won six in a row and opened a brief road trip with Sunday's 96-89 victory over the Orlando Magic in central Florida behind 28 points, six rebounds and six assists from Stephen Jackson.

Raymond Felton finished with 16 points and seven assists for the Bobcats, who also produced six-game tear from January 9-20. Bobcats star Gerald Wallace sat out with an ankle injury and is expected to miss Tuesday's game.

"Big win is an understatement," Jackson said after snapping a seven-game slide to the Magic. "Without having Gerald here, our All-Star, our sense of urgency really showed."

Jackson has scored 20 points or more in 15 of his last 22 games, averaging 22.6 points on .440 shooting in that span. The Bobcats are 10-23 as the visitor and sit even with Miami for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. With a record of 34-31 entering tonight's game, Charlotte is one win shy of tying the team record of 35 wins in a season, which was set last year.

Indiana is playing out the string and has lost two straight and six of its last seven games, including Sunday's 98-94 setback at Milwaukee in the finale of a short two-game road trip.

Danny Granger led all scorers with 29 points and Troy Murphy added 14 points and 13 boards for the Pacers. Earl Watson and Brandon Rush netted 15 and 13 points, respectively, in defeat.

"They're a good defensive team. I thought we had great looks, we just didn't make shots," Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien said.

The Pacers are 14-16 as the host this season

Charlotte and Indiana have split a pair of meetings this season and 16 matchups overall. The Bobcats have dropped seven of 10 trips to Indy.

Football356 Basketball Betting News

<< Big 12 sets record with 7 NCAA bids
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -The Big 12's coaches spent an entire season, even some time before it, telling anyone who'd listen this was the conference's strongest year ever.Turns out, they were right.The Big 12 earned a conference-record seven NCAA tourn

<< Booker ready for final NCAA chance
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -Devin Booker recalls the frustration of teammate and older brother, Trevor, last weekend after their highly regarded Clemson team was upset in its opening game at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.Devin, a Clemson freshman

<< Bryant and Lakers hang on against Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 124-121 win over Golden State, their ninth straight win over the Warriors. Pau Gasol added 26 points, while Andrew Bynum c

<< Jankovic moves on; Azarenka, Clijsters exit at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic snuck into the fourth round, while third-seeded Victoria Azarenka and 14th-seeded Kim Clijsters were third-round losers Monday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis

<< Thornton keys late spurt as Hornets beat Clippers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thornton hit a pair of three- pointers during a big New Orleans run in the fourth quarter, and David West led all scorers with 24 points, as the Hornets pulled away late to beat the Los Ang

Hawks visit lowly Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will hit the road for two straight games starting with tonight's showdown against the lowly New Jersey Nets at the IZOD Center. Atlanta will visit Toronto as well and is 16-16 as the guest this season. It

Cavs closing in on Central title; visit Pistons >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's best road team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, will pay a visit to the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The playoff-bound Cavs have won 14 of their last 19 road games and are 23-11 away from

Heat resume homestand vs. Spurs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams battling for playoff positioning get together tonight in south Florida, as the Miami Heat continue a six-game homestand versus the San Antonio Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat have won the first three te

Struggling Bruins visit Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will fight to hold onto their playoff spot when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center. The Bruins are currently eighth in the East with 72 points and are just one point ahead of the New

Sliding Bulls make a stop in Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fading Chicago Bulls hope to put the brakes on season- long seven-game skid and improve their standing in the Eastern Conference playoff picture when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Chicago's losing

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is 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.