Clippers and Nuggets square off in Denver

Basketball Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders meet in the Rockies Sunday when the Denver Nuggets entertain the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi Center.

The surprising Nuggets sport the second best record in the West and come into tonight's contest on a six-game run. Most recently, Rudy Fernandez poured in 23 points on Friday to lead four teammates in double-figures as Denver topped the Toronto Raptors, 96-81.

Danilo Gallinari, fresh off signing a four-year, $42 million dollar extension earlier in the week, dropped in 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Nene finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who improved to 7-2 at Pepsi Center. Andre Miller added 13 points and matched a season-high with 12 assists to go with six rebounds.

"I'm feeling good," Fernandez said. "I needed this game for my confidence. I'm very happy about the game."

The Nuggets earned their latest win without starting point guard Ty Lawson, who sat out with a sprained ankle. The North Carolina product has been listed as questionable for tonight's game but is expected to play.

The Clippers, meanwhile, lead the Pacific Division by one game over the Lakers and have alternated wins and losses over their past seven encounters. Most recently, Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading the Clips to a 98-91 victory over the Grizzlies at Staples Center on Thursday.

Chris Paul and Mo Williams each scored 18 points, while Caron Butler netted 16 to help Los Angeles rebounded from a loss to the rival Lakers on Wednesday. Paul also had seven rebounds and seven assists.

Tonight's contest will also mark the return of guard Chauncey Billups to Denver. The veteran spent three full seasons and parts of two others over two stints with his hometown team and was traded to New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal last season before signing with the Clips this offseason.

"Chauncey was huge because I was a young point guard coming into the game," Lawson told the Nuggets' website. "He's been everywhere I want to be. He's been an All-Star, he won a championship. I learned everything from him. He was very important to my development. It's going to fun playing against him."

The Clips, who are just 1-4 on the road this season, have won two straight over Denver after dropping the previous four in the series.

Wwwbetwwts Basketball Betting News

<< Irish to try their luck in Big East brawl with Huskies
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish conclude their two-game road trip with a visit to the XL Center to square off with the 24th- ranked Connecticut Huskies. This will be the 27th meeting in the all-time series betwe

<< Wolverines visit Buckeyes in Big Ten showdown
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to the Value City Arena today to take on the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes with the first place position in the Big Ten Conference standings at stake. This will be

<< Tar Heels put lengthy home win streak on line vs. Yellow Jackets
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith Center. This w

<< Hoosiers host Hawkeyes in Big Ten battle
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 16th in the nation to close out the week, the Indiana Hoosiers try to get back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play this evening as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Si

<< Wolves aim to snap long skid vs. Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will finish a two-day tour of the Midwest on Sunday aiming for their 16th consecutive win over the much-improved Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves haven't beaten LA since March 6, 2007 but this is a much differ

Falcons add former Fresno State coach Pat Hill >>
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Fresno State head coach Pat Hill will join the Atlanta Falcons' staff as offensive line coach. Hill spent the past 15 seasons guiding the Bulldogs and was fired in December after the team strugg

De Jong's hat trick moves Twente into second >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luuk de Jong's hat trick propelled Twente to a 4-1 win over Groningen on Sunday, moving the club past third- place AZ Alkmaar on goal difference. AZ's surprising 2-0 defeat to Roda on Saturday

Bledsoe back with Clippers >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe is back with the team after being recalled from Bakersfield of the NBA Development League on Sunday. Bledsoe has not played for Los Angeles this season because of a right k

Time to take the Sixers' temperature >>
Philadelphia, PA (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back when I was covering the NFL, Bill Parcells was a constant source of wisdom for me. One of my favorite Parcells' quotes is his famous "You are what your record says you are" rant. If that's true

Monchengladbach topples Stuttgart to keep pace >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monchengladbach remained within one point of the Bundesliga summit on Sunday after a 3-0 win at Stuttgart. Mike Hanke's first-half goal gave the visitors a halftime lead before Marco Reus and Igo

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.