Magic, Hornets collide in Orlando
Basketball Betting Lines
02/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic hope to carry the momentum from their big win at Boston into tonight's home tilt versus the New Orleans Hornets at Amway Arena.
Orlando posted a 96-89 triumph over the Celtics on Sunday at TD Garden, as Vince Carter posted 20 points and Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Southeast Division-leading Magic, who battled back from an 11-point halftime deficit.
"I think we just came out with a lot of intensity. I was upset about how we played in the first half, it wasn't as well as we wanted to," Howard said. "We came out in the second half with a lot of energy, defensively moved our feet, we were talking more and that's what got us the big lead."
Jameer Nelson had 15 points and Rashard Lewis netted 14 in the win, Orlando's eighth in its last 10 tries. The Magic will put its 19-5 home mark to the test Monday night and are one game ahead of Atlanta in the division standings.
New Orleans will shoot for its fifth straight win on the road this evening and ended a three-game losing streak with a 104-99 triumph at Charlotte on Saturday.
Rookie Darren Collison, filling in for injured All-Star guard Chris Paul, recorded a team-high 24 points and four assists, while David West scored 21 points and Peja Stojakovic contributed 18 for New Orleans, which avoided a season-high fourth straight loss.
Collison is averaging 15.5 points, 7.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game in 13 games as a starter. He has been a big lift since Paul underwent left knee surgery and will be out a minimum of four weeks.
"This [win] was needed bad especially after those losses at home," said Collison, who is averaging 16.6 points and 9.8 assists in five starts since Paul went down. "We needed to come back and have a victory today. We've got two games before the break and have to finish strong."
Emeka Okafor posted 16 points and seven rebounds in the win. On the injury front for New Orleans, guard Marcus Thornton (back) is questionable for Monday.
New Orleans and Orlando are meeting for the first time this season, and have split the past eight matchups.
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peyton Manning was one quarter away from capturing his second Super Bowl title in four years, but the four-time league MVP didn't get enough support from his teammates, and in the end a costly interce
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<< Line of Scrimmage: Saints' Night, Manning's Nightmare
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwest Division-leading Dallas Mavericks will hit the road for three games starting with Monday's contest against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena. Dallas will also visit Denver and Oklahoma City on the roa
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annual Rodeo Road Trip when they face the defending NBA champion Los Angeles
Lakers at Staples Center tonight.
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Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Panthers take a break from
their Big East Conference schedule this evening to battle the Robert Morris
Colonials of the Northeast Conference at the Petersen Events Center in the
Steel City.
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in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers this evening.
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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