Basketball Betting








 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Clippers hire three assistants

Basketball Betting Lines

08/12/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers hired Dean Demopoulos, Marc Iavaroni and Robert Pack as assistant coaches on Thursday.

The overhauled staff will work under new head coach Vinny Del Negro, who was hired this offseason to replace interim head coach Kim Hughes. Mike Dunleavy was replaced on February 4, and Hughes took over for the rest of the season.

The Clippers finished third in a weak Pacific Division in 2009-10 with a 29-53 record. Los Angeles hasn't qualified for the playoffs since 2006.

Demopoulos, who was the lead assistant coach in Portland for the last five seasons, is a 27-year veteran in the coaching ranks. Prior to his four-year stint in Seattle that preceeded the Trail Blazers, Demopoulos spent 17 seasons coaching with John Chaney at Temple University.

Iavaroni spent last season as an assistant in Toronto after serving as the head coach for Memphis for two years. He has also been an assistant in Phoenix (2002-07), Miami (1999-2002) and Cleveland (1997-99).

Pack was an assistant coach in New Orleans last season and played 13 years in the NBA with Dallas, Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans, New Jersey and Washington.

The team also named Dave Severns director of player development after serving on Del Negro's staff for the last two seasons in Chicago.


<< Torres hit in bottom of ninth pushes Giants past Cubs
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andres Torres hit a long pinch-hit single to the warning track with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to give the Giants another dramatic win, 8-7, to conclude a four-game series against the Cub

<< Georgia set to name McGarity as AD
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Georgia is set to name Greg McGarity its new athletic director. The Athens Banner-Herald cited a report on WSB-TV saying that McGarity, an Athens native, will be lured away from hi

<< Lee makes quarterfinals of Women's Amateur
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stroke play co-medalist Erynne Lee advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur with a pair of match-play victories on Thursday. Lee, a 17-year-old from Silverdale, Wash., earned one of

<< Woods in the hunt at PGA after a 71
Kohler, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods birdied his last hole on Thursday to shoot a one-under 71 in the first round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Woods failed to break par in any of his four rounds last week at the

<< Lakers sign second round choice Ebanks
El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Devin Ebanks, the 43rd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. The 6-foot-9 Ebanks averaged 12.0 points, 8.

Clijsters has easy time in reaching Cincy QFs >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters breezed into the quarterfinals with a straight-set victory Thursday at the $2 million Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, a hardcourt U.S. Open Series eve

Seahawks LB Hill suffers knee sprain >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill will be out until September after suffering a sprained knee. The Seattle Times quoted head coach Pete Carroll on Thursday as saying the injury will keep Hill side

Els among leaders at suspended PGA >>
Kohler, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els is one of five co-leaders at four- under par during Thursday's suspended first round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Els, Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney are in the middle of their

Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray reach Rogers Cup quarters >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, former top-ranked superstar Roger Federer and reigning champion Andy Murray joined second-seeded Novak Djokovic in posting third-round victories Thursday at the $2.43 million Roger C

Pitching the key as Padres sweep Pirates >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Garland and three relievers combined to pitch a shutout while Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer, as the San Diego Padres blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0, in the finale of a three-game series

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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

Sportsbook Betting Lines

Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.

“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.

“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “

What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?

There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).

Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).

How the Opening Line Is Made

The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.

Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.

Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.

Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.

The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.

A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.

Why Sports Betting Lines Change

Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:

Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game

Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)

The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.

Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.

For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.

Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."

“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”

To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.