Jazz, Suns jockey for playoff position at Phoenix

Basketball Betting Lines

03/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders jockey for playoff position in the desert Friday when the Phoenix Suns play host to the Utah Jazz.

Utah is currently the fourth seed in the West, two games ahead of the Suns, who occupy the sixth slot.

The Jazz are coming off a brief but perfect two-game homestand capped by a 122-100 rout of the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver were at the head of a balanced scoring attack with 21 and 20 points, respectively, in that one.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Mehmet Okur chipped in 14 and Wesley Matthews provided 10 points.

Deron Williams dished out 11 assists to pair with nine points for the Jazz, who won for the sixth time in eight contests. Korver reached a season-high in points by hitting 7-of-9 shots, while Millsap added 11 boards in the rout -- with both performances originating from Utah's bench.

"They came out and got their hands on the basketball and played well. They made some nice passes and I thought they did a nice job," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of his reserves.

Utah was really banged-up in the game, however. Williams, who has recorded at least nine assists in 21 straight games, suffered both a mildly sprained left ankle as well as a left shoulder contusion during the contest and will be a game-time decision for tonight's contest.

Forward Andrei Kirilenko also left the game early in the third quarter after re-straining his left calf, while guard Wesley Matthews suffered a mildly sprained left MCL. Both of those players are also set to be game-time decisions.

Phoenix is also coming off a rout of Minnesota in its last encounter, a 152-114 drubbing on Tuesday. Jason Richardson led eight Suns players in double figures with 27 points in that one.

Amare Stoudemire netted 25 and Steve Nash added 13 and 14 assists, as the Suns set an NBA-high for points in a game this season and improved to 3-2 on a seven-game homestand.

Louis Amundson scored a season-high 20 on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench for Phoenix, which won for a third time in four games. Channing Frye also chipped in 14 points.

"I thought we played very well and did a great job of taking care of business," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "They are a very capable team, especially if you let them hang around."

The Jazz have taken both of their matchups with Phoenix so far this season and three straight overall in the series.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

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Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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Betting Football

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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.