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Nets, Mavs square off in DallasBasketball Betting Lines02/18/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets wrap up a brief tour through the state of Texas with this evening's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks from the American Airlines Center. The Nets did not begin this two-game Lone Star State trek on a positive note, as the slumping club was handed a 114-88 defeat by the Houston Rockets Tuesday at the Toyota Center. The loss was the third in a row for New Jersey following a season-best four-game win streak. Vince Carter, the subject of recent trade rumors with Thursday's deadline looming, led the Nets with 30 points and Brook Lopez netted 21 to go along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Former Maverick Devin Harris, New Jersey's leading scorer with an average of 21.5 points per game, managed just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting in last night's setback. Following tonight's tilt, the Nets will embark on a four-game homestand starting with a clash against Washington on Friday. New Jersey has been better on the road than at home this season, however, having compiled a 13-14 record as the visitor and just an 11-16 mark at the Izod Center. The Mavericks will be playing for the first time since the All-Star break tonight and come in as the seventh seed in the Western Conference, a half-game behind No. 6 New Orleans and one ahead of eighth-seeded Utah. Dallas had won two straight home games before enduring a 99-92 loss to defending world champion Boston at the American Airlines Center last Thursday. Dirk Nowitzki recorded a game-best 37 points for the Mavericks, who were outscored 30-17 by the Celtics during the deciding fourth quarter, with Josh Howard adding 17 in defeat. Jason Kidd, traded by the Nets to Dallas as the centerpiece of last February's eight-player deal that sent Harris to New Jersey, had 10 assists in the game but finished with just three points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Mavericks played their second straight contest without Jason Terry, the club's second-leading scorer at 19.9 points per game. The veteran guard broke a bone in his left hand in a February 7 outing against Chicago and is sidelined indefinitely. New Jersey routed the Mavs by a 121-97 score at the Izod Center on December 19, but have lost eight straight times as the visitor in this series. The Nets have not won in Dallas since March 2, 2000.
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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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