Brand, Sixers handle Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

10/31/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elton Brand poured in game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers in a 116-87 rout of the New York Knicks at the Wachovia Center.

Andre Miller had 20 points, eight assists and seven boards for the Sixers, who bounced back from a 95-84 drubbing at the hands of the Raptors in their season-opener on Wednesday. Willie Green and Lou Williams scored 18 and 15, respectively, off the bench while Thaddeus Young had 13 points in the win.

David Lee dropped in 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who faltered following a 120-115 victory over Miami Wednesday in their opener. Jamal Crawford had 14 points in defeat, while Nate Robinson and Zach Randolph each dropped 12 points.

The Sixers jumped out to a 31-24 lead after the first quarter and with a six- point lead late in the second quarter, Brand's layup sparked an 8-2 run which closed out the half. A Miller-to-Samuel Dalembert alley-oop reverse dunk closed out the surge and sent the 76ers into the break leading 60-48.

New York's deficit hovered around 10 points for the majority of the third frame, until a Young layup made it 75-61 with 6 1/2 minutes to go in the stanza.

Crawford intervened with a three-pointer, but Dalembert drove for a layup and Miller scored the next seven points to increase the home team's advantage to 20 points about two minutes later.

Philadelphia was sitting on a 91-72 lead as the third quarter came to a close and a Kareem Rush jumper with 6:06 left in the game gave the 76ers their biggest lead of the night, 105-75. Philadelphia was never seriously threatened and cruised the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Philadelphia shot 52-of-88 (59 percent) from the floor, while New York was 32- of-98 (33 percent) shooting...The Knicks deactivated guard Stephon Marbury prior to the contest...New York forward Eddy Curry (knee) did not play for the second straight game...Green was 8-of-10 shooting from the floor...Philadelphia went 3-1 against the Knicks last year and has won six of seven and 10 of the previous 12 meetings...The Knicks are winless in their last eight trips to the City of Brotherly Love and have lost 13 of the past 16 games as the visitor in this series...Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was in attendance fresh off the city's World Series Championship parade earlier in the day.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.