Heat host Raptors in matinee affair
Basketball Betting Lines
02/05/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh said a few days ago it's
important for this team to make the essential adjustments following a loss.
"If we lose one or two, we need to make the necessary adjustments, get it done
and cut that down," Bosh told the Miami Herald. "That's the next step."
Bosh, his teammates and the coaching staff aired their grievances and offered
suggestions on what they can do to make this team better after blowing a lead
against Milwaukee in Wednesday's 105-97 loss. The meeting of the minds worked
in a big win at Philadelphia Friday night and the Heat look to build off of
that triumph in a Super Bowl matinee this afternoon versus Toronto. The New England Patriots will face the New York Giants tonight in Super Bowl XLVI.
The Heat are back in south Florida following their two-day sojourn and will
host both the Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Winners in nine of their last
11 games, the Heat recorded a 99-79 victory over the pesky 76ers at a packed
Wells Fargo Center and were led by Dwyane Wade's 26 points. LeBron James
turned in another solid performance with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight
assists for Miami, which used a 27-8 run to start the fourth quarter and
outscored the Sixers by a 32-16 margin in the final stanza.
"The most important thing is that this team improved in 48 hours," Heat head
coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This was a very good team win against a very good
team that has been playing well."
Mario Chalmers and Bosh scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, while
Mike Miller also had 12 points and Norris Cole added 11 in the win. The Heat
shot 51.9 percent and aim for a fifth straight win at home Sunday. They are
10-2 as the host and own a 1 1/2-game lead over Atlanta for the top spot in
the Southeast Division. Miami is 12-3 versus the Eastern Conference this
season and sports a 5-0 mark against Atlantic Division inhabitants. It has won
nine in a row against teams from that division during the regular season.
A win today for the Heat would match their best 24-game start to a season
since an 18-6 ledger in both the 1996-97 and 1998-99 campaigns. Another
victory would also put them a season-high 12 games above the .500 mark. James
is the best candidate to make that happen and is the only player in the NBA to
average at least 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game. He has
posted at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 straight
games, and only one other player in league history has registered those
numbers in at least that many contests. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson turned
the trick on three other occasions.
Robertson, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996, had a
26-game streak in the 1962-63 season and two years later accomplished the feat
in a league-best 29 consecutive contests (1964-65). "The Big O" had a 25-gamer
in the 1963-64 season.
Meanwhile, the Raptors have won four of their last seven games since a
grueling eight-game losing streak and will play back-to-back road games
against Miami and Washington. They are just 5-10 away from home this season.
Toronto is coming off of Friday's 106-89 win over the Wizards at Air Canada
Centre, as Leandro Barbosa scored a team-best 19 points and Amir Johnson
posted 18 points and 13 rebounds. Barbosa was able to shake off flu-like
symptoms and missed the team's shootaround.
"It feels good, it was a breakout game for me," Johnson said. "I talked to
coach, he told me just to be patient and just play."
James Johnson netted 13 points and Jose Calderon collected eight and a game-
high 17 assists for the Raptors, who had a lopsided 61-37 advantage in
rebounds and bounced back from a 100-64 loss at Boston on Wednesday. The 61
boards were a franchise record in regulation. Toronto had 65 rebounds in an
overtime game against New York back on March 21, 1999.
Toronto's bench scored a season-high 68 points against Washington. The team
can match their road win total of last season (6) with an improbable triumph
Sunday against the Heat. Raptors center Andrea Bargnani missed his 11th game
of the season with a nagging calf injury. Toronto is 2-9 without Bargnani, who
is out indefinitely and leads the team with 23.5 points in 13 games.
The Raptors lost all four meetings with the Heat last season and are winless
in the previous five contests in this series. Toronto has also lost four
straight and nine of 12 trips to south Florida. Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan
is averaging 16.0 points in seven career games against Miami, while James is
posting 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 28 career matchups with
Toronto. Wade is averaging 27.5 ppg in 21 career games in this series.
<< Kvitova sends Czechs into Fed Cup semis
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won
her singles match on Sunday and sent the reigning champion Czech Republic into
the Fed Cup semifinals for a second straight year.
The Czechs entered Sunday's actio
<< Jets wrap road trip against Canadiens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luckily for the Winnipeg Jets, they got a day of rest
before wrapping their six-game road trip.
The Jets hope to break even on the swing this afternoon in a meeting with the
Montreal Canadiens, who are still searching for
<< Rangers, Flyers meet for first time since Winter Classic
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rangers are enjoying a solid run of success as of late
over the rival Flyers. After all, in the past year they have beaten them in
New York and Philadelphia as well as indoors and outside.
New York seeks a sixth straig
<< Streaking Devils, Pens clash in New Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of streaking Atlantic Division rivals square off
this afternoon as the New Jersey Devils try to match their longest winning
streak of the season against the rolling Pittsburgh Penguins.
After dropping their final th
<< Bruins hope to get on track versus Capitals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins hope to avoid matching their longest
losing streak of the season this afternoon as they visit a Washington Capitals
club that has its eyes set on first place in the Southeast Division.
The Bruins haven't
Celtics start local events early vs. Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics own an amazing 17 championships, the
most by an NBA franchise.
Their neighbors across the way, the NFL's New England Patriots, can capture
their fourth Super Bowl title Sunday night against th
Hurricanes blow into Durham seeking upset of Blue Devils >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Blue Devils will look to keep
up the race for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference as they host the
Miami-Florida Hurricanes for a bout at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
This will be the 18th
Wolverines and Spartans add another chapter to bitter rivalry >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Michigan Wolverines will
try to be the first team to knock off the ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans
at the Breslin Center when the two rivals square off in a Big Ten Conference
battle.
Berdych beats Monfils for title in France >>
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas
Berdych outlasted French crowd favorite Gael Monfils in Sunday's title match
at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament.
The top-seeded world No. 7 Berdych
Aceves, Red Sox avoid arbitration >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and pitcher Alfredo Aceves
have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration with the 29-
year-old relief pitcher.
The deal is worth a reported $1.2 million with an add
MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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