The Sixth Man: Lakers' strife was predictable
Basketball Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expectations in the NBA are often measured on a sliding scale.
Most clubs would consider a 19-13 record that placed them a game behind the division leaders with two days to go before the All-Star break a success. Most teams aren't the Los Angeles Lakers, however.
For the 16-time champs, it's not about being competitive or having a chance to win a division, it's all about the Lawrence O'Brien Trophy.
And it's hard to look at these Lakers and say they are a legitimate contender for the crown. Oklahoma City is far too young and talented in the West while Miami and Chicago are more well-rounded in the East.
It's more than conceivable that the Lakers could compete with just about anyone else over a seven-game span, but that's just not good enough for Kobe Bryant, perhaps the most competitive player in the game.
L.A.'s decline sped up during last season's Western Conference semifinals when the Dallas Mavericks dethroned them by sweeping them out of the playoffs, sending Phil Jackson into retirement with an emphatic 122-86 Game 4 loss.
Jackson actually foreshadowed the current strife in Hollywood when he walked away. "The ultimate winner," Jackson probably knows better than anyone what a winning environment looks like. When he called it quits, it was a direct indictment of the Lakers and their immediate future.
Since longtime owner Dr. Jerry Buss has retreated a bit from the day-to-day operations of running the club, his son Jim is now the most influential man in the organization.
The younger Buss was no fan of Jackson's perceived smugness and cleaned house in the front office once Phil left. Everything from the scouting staff to the training staff was gutted in order to put his stamp on the league's marquee team.
More unhappiness developed after the Lakers, with Buss' prodding, sent the popular Lamar Odom to Big D before this season for a song and a dance. That was just days after a proposed three-way deal that would have moved both Odom and Pau Gasol for Chris Paul fell through.
Trade rumors have continued to swirl around Gasol since and the team's cornerstone, Bryant, finally reached his boiling point after a setback in Phoenix on Sunday, ripping L.A.'s management team for allowing his teammate to twist in the wind.
"I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him," Bryant said when talking about Gasol. "It's tough for a player to give his all when you don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow. I'd rather them not trade him at all. If they're going to do something, I wish they would just do it."
With no Jackson on the bench and no Odom coming off it, first-year Lakers mentor Mike Brown has been able to count on just three players this season as he implements a more complicated system, Bryant and his two 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Gasol.
The rest of the team, including battle-tested veterans Derek Fisher and Metta World Peace, has lacked consistency and offered little production.
The depth is virtually non-existent with little upside. In fact, the only young player who has even remotely stepped forward this season is rookie guard Andrew Goudelock, a College of Charleston product, who has flashed at times but has a very limited ceiling as a player.
With a stunning lack of assets to work with, it's ludicrous to think general manager Mitch Kupchak would shelve the idea of trading any commodity, never mind one of the few who others actually covet.
If a normal player spoke out of turn, Kupchak could have brushed it off, but when Bryant speaks, it might as well be an advertisement for E.F. Hutton -- when Kobe talks, people listen.
That forced Kupchak to address the situation and to his credit he was as frank and honest as any GM could be.
"As a former player, I understand how the days leading up to the trade deadline can be nerve-wracking for an NBA player," he said in a statement. "Nonetheless, as general manager of the Lakers, I have a responsibility to ownership, our fans and the players on this team to actively pursue opportunities to improve the team for this season and seasons to come.
"To say publicly that we would not do this would serve no purpose and put us at a competitive disadvantage. Taking such a course of action at this time would be a disservice to ownership, the team and our many fans."
A day can make quite a difference in someone's mood and Bryant was all smiles after scoring 28 points in Los Angeles' 103-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Afterwards, however, Bryant and Fisher held a players-only meeting as the team looks at the daunting task of back-to-back games on the road against West powers Dallas and Oklahoma City.
In the midst of his 16th NBA season, Bryant's brilliant career is a lot closer to the finish line than the starting blocks. The fact that his future championship aspirations are in the hands of someone he simply doesn't trust is a tough thing for him to swallow.
It may have seemed like Kobe was trying to paint an "us vs. the world" scenario, but he was really trying to rally the troops to keep playing despite what he perceives as Jim Buss' mismanagement.
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Czech Lucie Hradecka was a second-round loser Wednesday at the $220,000 Memphis International tennis event. Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko came from behind to beat Hradecka 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) on the
<< Pogatetz commits future to Hannover
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover defender Emanuel Pogatetz has
signed a new three-year contract with the club, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
The Austria international's contract was due to expire at the end of the
seas
<< City brushes Porto aside in Europa League
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City steam rolled over Porto
at home on Wednesday, earning a 4-0 victory against the Portuguese side to
advance to the Round of 16 of the Europa League.
Four different players got on th
<< Indians ink Guzman to minor league deal
Goodyear, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have signed veteran
infielder Cristian Guzman to a minor league contract with an invitation to
major league spring training.
Guzman, 33, did not play in 2011, reportedly due
<< Azarenka pulls out; Wozniacki advances in Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Victoria
Azarenka decided to pull out of the Dubai Duty Free Championships, citing a
left ankle injury, while former top-ranked star and reigning champion Caroline
Wozniac
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey forward Shawne Williams had successful left foot surgery on Wednesday, the Nets announced in a release. He will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season. The surgery was performed by Dr
Coyotes obtain Vermette from Jackets >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday acquired
center Antoine Vermette from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a pair
of draft picks and goaltender Curtis McElhinney.
A three-time 20-goal scorer, Ver
Hawks' Johnson to miss All-Star Game >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson will miss All-Star weekend
because of tendinitis in his left knee, the team said Wednesday.
Johnson, who is averaging 17.6 points per game, was selected to the All-Star
game as a reserve
Line of Scrimmage: Combine questions have a need for speed >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Class was back in session for prospective
graduates into the football profession when the world's most celebrated
college job fair, the NFL Scouting Combine, got underway Wednesday, even
though this year's tw
Zusi re-signs with Sporting >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi
has signed a new contract with the club, it was announced on Wednesday,
although terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 25-year-old Zusi is coming of
NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.