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Bryant's buzzer-beater leads Lakers over HeatBasketball Betting Lines12/05/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant's final three points came on an acrobatic off-balance shot at the final horn, and the Lakers barely won their eighth straight game with a 108-107 victory over the Heat at Staples Center. After Miami star Dwyane Wade made just 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 3.2 seconds left to put the Heat ahead by two, Bryant took an inbounds pass from half-court with Wade draped all over him. Bryant then jumped in the air while leaning left from the top of the key, and his shot banked off the backboard and into the net for the improbable victory. Bryant had 17 of his 33 total points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers, who moved to 12-2 at home this season. Pau Gasol added 22 points and eight rebounds, while Andrew Bynum had 19 points and eight boards in the win. Wade had 12 of his 26 in the fourth quarter and also had nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, who have lost four of five. Jermaine O'Neal contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Udonis Haslem had 14 points in defeat. The two teams began the fourth deadlocked in a 76-76 tie, but Bryant created some separation with a three-point play and a long range shot to make it a six-point game. Bryant extended the lead to seven, 88-81, with 7 1/2 minutes left with a fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired. The Heat were able to get back to within two, 93-91, with four minutes to play following two Haslem free throws. Quentin Richardson then put Miami in front, 96-95, on a three-pointer with just under three minutes left. Bryant, though, answered with an acrobatic three-point play with 2:07 remaining to put LA back in front by a pair. Wade hit two free throws on the following Heat possession to tie the game, and Miami's superstar drove to the hoop for an easy layup with 1:26 left to give the visitors a 100-98 lead. After each team added a basket, Bryant missed a rainbow jumper with 25.0 seconds left, forcing the Lakers to foul. Richardson drilled two free throws with 21.9 seconds to go, and Bryant missed a layup attempt at the other end. Gasol grabbed the miss and hit two free throws with 9.9 ticks remaining, but Wade followed suit at the other end to keep it a four-point, two-possession game. Derek Fisher's three with 4.3 seconds to go brought the Lakers to within 106-105, and Wade hit only 1-of-2 from the line 1.1 ticks later. On the final play, Bryant barely received the inbounds pass and launched up a desperation off-balance three-point attempt from the top of the key over Wade, and the ball banked off the backboard and through the hoop as the buzzer sounded for the win. Mario Chalmers hit all three of his long distance shots for the Heat in the first quarter, and Miami held a 23-21 lead after the opening 12 minutes. A brief 6-0 run by Los Angeles early in the second put the Lakers in front, 29-27, and the lead was extended to six on Bynum's basket with just under four minutes left until halftime. Miami was able to cut its deficit to 51-48 after two quarters. The Lakers led by as much as eight in a back-and-forth third quarter, but a 12-2 run by Miami late in the frame gave the Heat a 74-72 edge following Wade's three-point play. The two teams were tied, 76-76, entering the final stanza. Game Notes Lakers forward Lamar Odom was ejected after receiving two technical fouls with 5:07 left in the fourth quarter following a brief altercation with Miami's O'Neal...Richardson had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Beasley and Chalmers both had 12 points for Miami...Fisher had 11 points for Los Angeles...Miami shot just 27-of-42 from the free throw line, compared to 23- of-28 for the Lakers.
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College Football Betting Tips From a ProWhile 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. |
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