Bobcats dominate Cavs as Jamison falls flat in debut
Basketball Betting Lines
02/20/2010 -
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Jackson poured in 29 points and
pulled down eight rebounds, as the Charlotte Bobcats handled the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-93, in a battle between two teams that made moves prior to
Thursday's trade deadline.
The Bobcats improved their roster by obtaining forward Tyrus Thomas and center
Theo Ratliff in separate deadline deals. Charlotte sent guards Flip Murray and
Acie Law and a future first-round draft choice to Chicago for Thomas, while
the 15-year veteran Ratliff was acquired from San Antonio for a second-round
selection in 2016.
Thomas ended with nine points and 12 rebounds while Ratliff grabbed five
rebounds and blocked two shots for the Bobcats, who have won three of four.
Boris Diaw donated 18 points and nine assists. Gerald Wallace added 17 points
and eight boards while Raymond Felton finished with 16 points and six assists
for Charlotte, which won the season series with Cleveland, 3-1.
"It's not so easy to attack the rim anymore, even though Theo missed a couple
[blocks], everybody in the league knows he's coming. We haven't had that,"
Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said. "Tyrus challenges shots and is athletic."
The Cavaliers, who have lost two in row since a franchise-record 13-game win
streak, acquired two-time All-Star Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards
in a three-team, six-player trade on Wednesday. However Jamison had a horrible
debut on Friday, going 0-for-12 from the field for just two points while
pulling down seven rebounds.
LeBron James paced the Cleveland offense with 22 points and nine assists.
Delonte West donated 13 points off the bench while Mo Williams added 12 points
for the Cavaliers, who shot 39 percent from the field.
"We didn't show any intensity, offensively or defensively, and they're just a
tough team for us to cover in this regular season thus far, four games," James
said. "They've played well against us. They have our number this year."
Ahead 65-64 with five minutes left in the third, Charlotte closed the stanza
out on a 17-4 run to create some breathing room. D.J. Augustin tallied five
points during the stretch, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it
82-68 heading to the fourth.
Cleveland never got closer than 11 in the fourth.
The Cavaliers led by as many as eight in the first quarter and held a 32-27
margin after 12 minutes.
Trailing 45-41 with over four minutes left until half, Charlotte ripped off
seven consecutive points to take a 48-45 lead on Diaw's layup with 2:41
remaining. The score was tied at 50-50 heading into the locker room.
The Bobcats scored eight straight points in the early stages of the third.
Diaw's three-pointer had Charlotte in front 61-55 with less than 8 1/2 minutes
to go.
Game Notes
Shaquille O'Neal had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs, who aslo got
guard Sebastian Telfair from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the deal.
Telfair did not play on Friday...Charlotte was without centers Tyson Chandler
(ankle) and DeSagana Diop (knee) on Friday...The Bobcats shot 54.7 percent
from the field...Augustin had 12 points for the victors.
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Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ray Allen finished with 21 points as the
Boston Celtics took an impressive road win for the second straight day, a 96-
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Coming off a one-point win Thursday ag
<< Boozer helps Jazz keep rolling with win over Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer poured in 30 points and pulled
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BOSTON (96)Pierce 3-9 2-2 9, Garnett 7-9 1-2 16, Perkins 2-3 3-8 7, Rondo 5-10 0-1 10, R.Allen 9-14 0-0 21, Wallace 3-7 0-0 6, T.Allen 3-7 1-4 7, Davis 3-8 4-5 10, Daniels 3-5 1-1 7, Scalabrine 1-1 0-0 3, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-73 12-23 96
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Pettersen pushes lead to five in Thailand >>
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Pettersen, the 2007 champion, comple
Cavaliers' moves change matchups with Magic >>
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Clippers host Kings in LA >>
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stop a six-game slide versus the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center.
The Clippers,
Raptors open homestand vs. Wizards >>
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Nets. The Raptors hope to have Bosh back in the lineup tonight, when they kick
off a t
New-look Knicks play host to Thunder >>
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deadline has come and gone.
The Knicks acquired former scoring champion Tracy M
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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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