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Underrated Sixers fight for respectBasketball Betting Lines02/02/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day," - Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt. The Sixers could only gain a victory on the scoreboard Wednesday. They weren't about to win any respect. Spending a few minutes in the pre-game press area with the Eastern Conference- leading Bulls in town made that pretty clear. Whenever this plucky, overachieving 76ers group wins, it's wait until Chicago or Miami comes to town.' Whenever they lose, it's 'I told you so.' Well the Bulls came to the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday and left with a lance or two in their backs as they boarded a bus for New York City. Bullfighting analogies aside, this Sixers team has quickly morphed into the Rodney Dangerfield on the NBA. They can't get any respect. Before the game I overheard one Philly-area radio host bemoan that the Sixers just didn't have the firepower to keep up with a Bulls team minus Luol Deng and Rip Hamilton. Another writer said he thought the best Philadelphia could hope for in a seven-game murderer's row stretch that included games against Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, the Lakers, San Antonio and the Clippers was 2-5. Well, after Philadelphia blitzed the "best team in the East" by a 98-82 margin, they've already got their two with five left to go. So, the post-game narrative went in a different direction. "Well Chicago was tired," I heard. "They were hurt" and Tom Thibodeau raised the white flag when things got out of hand in the third quarter, resting his starters so they would be fresh for a Knicks team with far more star power on Thursday. That same kind hemming and hawing happened when Philly beat Indiana without Danny Granger or Atlanta minus Al Horford. Never mind the Sixers have been without their two top centers for well over a week, it's always about what the opponent is going through, never what the Sixers are overcoming. Of course that didn't explain how the quick, ultra-athletic 76ers forced 17 turnovers on Wednesday night, scoring 29 points off of them, or how they amassed 21 fast-break points to the Bulls' four. "They're quick to the ball," Thibodeau said. "Our reaction was very poor. They beat us to loose balls, second-effort plays. You can't do that. their speed and quickness, if you turn the ball over, puts them in the open floor." I'll be the first to admit I was far from sold on this Philadelphia team coming into the season, pegging them as an eight seed and first round fodder for either the Bulls or Miami come playoff time. It's a club without a star but a lot of very good players that play the game the right way. They are unselfish. They don't turn it over and they play every possession hard. It's a team with a host of ascending players and young legs in a truncated season short on off days. It's a team that is now 16-6 after one-third of the season and on pace to win a gaudy 48 times. It's a squad that has won by 10-plus points 14 times this season and are outscoring opponents by a league-best 11.6 ppg. It's a defensive-minded group that has held opponents below 90 points in four straight contests and 15 times of the season (14-1). "They're a good defensive team, making it hard, being scrappy," reigning league MVP Derrick Rose said. "They're a good team. They've got a lot of athletic people on their team, especially their wings." But just wait until LeBron gets to Philly on Friday, right? To be fair, on paper the Sixers probably don't match up with the Heat but I'm starting to think it's LBJ and D-Wade that should be concerned with the 76ers. Doug Collins has this team believing in itself. That's how a second round rookie like Lavoy Allen, who wasn't even playing until Spencer Hawes and Nik Vucevic went down with injuries, can outplay proven contributors like Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik. For Collins it's all about beating who is in front of you and keeping things moving in the right direction. "Play the teams in front you," the coach recently said. "It doesn't matter if you get [wins] in April, February, March, doesn't matter. Win at home and that's what we've got to keep doing." Respect will eventually come but let's just say Aretha should probably starting warming up the pipes. It's almost time to sing for these 76ers. "I don't think you can measure anyone now," Thibodeau said. "You have to wait until the end of the season to measure people but in terms of what I see right now, I see a very good team. "They're well balanced, there's not one aspect of the game that they don't have covered. They can break you down off the dribble, they are good in transition and hey are great defensively, so they are right there with everyone else."
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NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting. |
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