Heat and Knicks meet in MSG
Basketball Betting Lines
04/11/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat hope to bounce back from their first loss in
three weeks on Sunday when they invade historic Madison Square Garden to take
on the New York Knicks.
Ben Gordon drained 7-of-11 three-pointers for a season-high 39 points on
Friday, as Detroit handed Miami a 106-99 defeat, snapping the Heat's nine-game
winning streak.
Dwyane Wade ended with 19 points and nine helpers for the Heat, who are now
one-half game back of Milwaukee for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference
with three games to play. Udonis Haslem chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds
in defeat.
"We're going to regret this one," Beasley said. "Ben Gordon and Tayshaun
Prince were just amazing tonight."
The Knicks, meanwhile, continue to play out the string and lost their second
straight game on Friday in Orlando when Vince Carter and Dwight Howard each
poured in 25 points, as the Magic handled New York, 118-103.
Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points to lead the Knicks, who have lost seven of
eight on the road. Chris Duhon and Sergio Rodriguez each had 13, while Toney
Douglas added 12 points in defeat.
"(Orlando has) a big guy inside that makes it kind of rough," said Knicks head
coach Mike D'Antoni. "We played hard. We played pretty well. They just
outmanned us. They're just better."
Miami has topped the Knicks four straight times and will be attempting to
sweep the season series tonight.
<< Lakers host Blazers in possible playoff preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A possible Western Conference quarterfinals preview is in
the offing this afternoon as the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers
welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to Staples Center.
The Lakers have wrapped up the West
<< Blackhawks aim to secure West's top seed versus Red Wings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A win today would give the Blackhawks the top seed in the
Western Conference, but the Red Wings could have something to say about that.
Detroit will try to play spoiler this afternoon and better its own playoff
positioning wh
<< Oilers, Ducks close the book on NHL's regular season
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers will both close the
book on disappointing seasons this evening when they play the last regular-
season game of the NHL's 2009-10 season at Honda Center.
The Ducks have lost three strai
<< High-flying Blue Jays go for sweep of Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Shawn Marcum can pitch the Toronto Blue Jays
into their first series sweep of the 2010 season today, when the team visits
the Baltimore Orioles in game three of the weekend set at Camden Yards.
The Blue Jays p
<< Stamkos takes aim at goal-scoring title as Lightning host Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos continues to show that the future is bright
for Tampa Bay.
The second-year center will take a shot at winning the NHL's goal-scoring
title this evening when the Lightning close out their regular season again
Playoffs come early to Toronto as Raptors host Bulls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's final playoff berth could very well be on the
line tonight as the Chicago Bulls visit the Toronto Raptors.
The Bulls and Raptors are deadlocked for the eighth and final postseason spot
in the Eastern Conference w
Mets send Santana to hill in finale with Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two award-laden veterans square off on the mound today at
Citi Field when the host New York Mets face the Washington Nationals in the
rubber match of a three-game weekend series.
For the Mets, left-hander Johan Santana mak
Hornets welcome woeful Wolves to the Big Easy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams limping toward the finish line of the NBA
season meet in the Big Easy on Sunday when the New Orleans Hornets host the
lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Hornets dropped their fifth straight game on Friday wh
Thunder shoot for season sweep of Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder shoot for their 50th win of the
season tonight when they visit the lowly Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder are coming off a huge win over Phoenix on Friday when Kevin Durant
finished with 35 poin
Suns jockey for playoff position vs. Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns hope to improve on their playoff
position in the jumbled Western Conference Sunday when they host the
Houston Rockets.
The Suns are coming off a tough loss to fellow West contender Oklahoma City on
Friday
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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