76ers make a stop at Golden State sans A.I.
Basketball Betting Lines
02/23/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will be without the services of
star guard Allen Iverson tonight as the team hopes to secure its first
win in five years over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
Iverson has left the Sixers again and is out indefinitely to spend time with
his ailing daughter. The enigmatic guard will miss at least the remaining
three games on Philadelphia's road trip and may not be brought back at all
this season. Various sources have reported that Philadelphia is seriously
considering letting Iverson walk.
The 11-time All-Star has already missed five games and the this year's mid-
season classic to be with his family when the health issue surfaced earlier
this month, although Iverson has not disclosed what is wrong with his four-
year-old daughter, Messiah.
Sixers president Ed Stefanski says it was in the best interest of the team and
Iverson to allow him time with his family to deal with a "very serious issue."
On the floor the Sixers are coming off a blowout loss to Chicago in the Windy
City on Saturday. Rookie Taj Gibson was one of seven Bulls to score in double
figures in that one as he tied a career-high with 20 in Chicago's 122-90 rout
of Philadelphia.
Andre Iguodala had 23 points for the Sixers, who opened a four-game road trip
by losing for the third time in four overall contests. They'll also take on
Phoenix and the Lakers during the swing.
Thaddeus Young scored 17 to go with eight rebounds for Philadelphia, which
failed to build on a 106-94 home win over San Antonio on Friday. Iverson ended
with 13 points and Lou Williams 10 in defeat.
This marked the second time in less than a week the Sixers lost by a huge
number. They were throttled, 105-78, at home by Miami on Tuesday.
"We didn't answer their runs," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said.
The Warriors, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 on a six-game homestand Sunday when
Stephen Curry poured in a game-best 32 points and his technical free throw
with 34.6 seconds remaining proved to be the difference, as Golden State
rallied to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 108-104.
Curry also pulled down nine rebounds for the Warriors while Monta Ellis added
26 points and five rebounds.
C.J. Watson donated 15 points and six assists off the bench for Golden State,
which shot 53.6 percent from the field.
"The force was with us tonight which was great to see," Warriors head coach
Don Nelson said. "It was great to see Monta [Ellis] come back and compete. He
guarded their best player, basically, one-on-one. He got a steal for us, made
free throws, and was a big factor down the stretch. It was one of those games
where we pulled all of the right strings, made shots, and the force was with
us. We were a little lucky too, but we'll take it."
Philly last topped the Warriors in Oakland on Jan. 3, 2005.
<< Pistons, Kings collide in Sacramento
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the NBA's poorer teams meet tonight when the Detroit
Pistons kick off a four-game road trip in California's capital against the
Sacramento Kings.
The Pistons come in off a hard-fought overtime home win over th
<< Lakers hope to have Kobe back in Memphis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers hope to have Kobe Bryant back in the
lineup tonight when the club kicks off a brief two-game road trip in Memphis.
The Lakers' superstar has missed the previous five games, including last
Thurs
<< SEC foes Tennessee and Florida collide in Gainesville
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and
Florida Gators are set to do battle in what figures to be a hard-fought SEC
clash.
Tennessee is clearly overshadowed by Kentucky in the SEC, but the Volunteers
hav
<< Big 12 mathup features Wildcats at Red Raiders
Lubbock, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats bring a
five-game win streak into tonight's Big 12 Conference clash with the Texas
Tech Red Raiders.
Kansas State is not on the same level as rival Kansas, at least in reg
<< No. 10 Lobos butt heads with Rams
Fort Collins, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off one of their toughest outings
of the season, the 10th-ranked New Mexico Lobos start a brief two-game road
trip against Colorado State tonight at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
The Lobos, who enter
Cavs hope to snap skid vs. Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Losing three in a row has brought the Cleveland Cavaliers
back to reality after their impressive 13-game winning streak, and they'll try
to end this season-long skid tonight at home versus the New Orleans Hornets.
Clevelan
Durant, Thunder put streaks on line vs. Suns >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant leads his red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder
against the Phoenix Suns tonight in a battle of Western Conference contenders
at the Ford Center.
The Thunder, who are one-half game ahead of Phoenix for the fi
Blazers kick off road trip vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have been teetering along the
playoff line and will try to stay in the hunt when they commence a five-game
road trip Tuesday against the woeful New Jersey Nets at the IZOD Center.
The Blazers are
Wolves, Heat collide in South Beach >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is expected to miss his third
straight game tonight, when the Minnesota Timberwolves invade south Florida
for a showdown at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Wade has missed back-to-back contests because
T-Mac leads Knicks into Beantown to face Celtics >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtics newcomer Nate Robinson will welcome his former
employer to Boston this evening, when the New York Knicks pay a visit to TD
Garden in a showdown between Atlantic Division rivals.
Robinson was acquired by Boston befo
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What Is the Point Spread?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
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