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Bucks eye playoff spot in visit to BullsBasketball Betting Lines04/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks hope to clinch their first playoff berth since 2006 when they visit the Windy City tonight to take on a Chicago Bulls team scratching and clawing for the final postseason spot in the East. The Bulls are one game behind eighth place Toronto with just six games to play. Milwaukee is currently the sixth seed in the East, five games clear of Chicago. The Bucks' playoff push has largely been fueled by a deal made with the Bulls at the trade deadline. Milwaukee is a gaudy 18-6 since acquiring John Salmons from Chicago and the veteran swingman has been brilliant since taking up residence in Brew City, averaging 20.0 points in his 24 games with the Bucks. Things aren't all rosy in Milwaukee, however. Center Andrew Bogut, perhaps the team's best player, suffered a broken hand, dislocated elbow and sprained wrist during a fall from the rim in a 107-98 win over Phoenix on Saturday night. The former No. 1 overall pick underwent surgery Monday and is expected to be out up to six weeks, meaning he'll likely miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The Bucks inched closer to that postseason spot on Saturday when rookie star Brandon Jennings posted 23 points as Milwaukee snapped the Suns' 10-game win streak with a 107-98 victory at Bradley Center. Carlos Delfino poured in 16 points and nine rebounds while Salmons scored 14 points for the Bucks, who stemmed a two-game slide and also erased a seven- game skid to the Suns despite losing Bogut in the second quarter. Bogut had 12 points and four boards before departing for Milwaukee, which remained in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Miami, after the Heat topped Minnesota earlier Saturday. "We had a lot of energy. Considering what we have been through; 11 games in 18 days and two really tough road losses and Phoenix winning 10 in a row," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said. "I was really proud of the guys tonight. You could tell fatigue was setting in near the end of the game." The Bulls, meanwhile, are fighting for their playoff lives and they have been playing like it, winning for the fourth time in five games on Saturday to stay on Toronto's heels. Derrick Rose recorded a game-high 26 points in that one, as Chicago earned a 96-88 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center. Kirk Hinrich added 24 points and six rebounds for the Bulls. Taj Gibson donated 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Luol Deng chipped in 12 points in a winning effort. "We understand the situation and have to keep fighting and keep fighting," center Joakim Noah told NBA.com. "I think everybody here really wants to make the playoffs." Milwaukee has lost eight straight in Chicago, last winning there on Jan. 2, 2006. If the Bulls lose tonight, Miami will clinch a playoff spot.
<< Spurs, Kings go at it in Sacramento
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a playoff berth already secured, the San Antonio Spurs get back to work tonight in California's capital against the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings. Manu Ginobili scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter
<< Cavs host Raptors in possible playoff preview
<< Celtics jockey for playoff position vs. Knicks
<< Nellie stands on the precipice of history as Warriors visit Wizards
<< Pistons, Sixers clash in Philly
Thunder shoot for series sweep of Jazz >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The jumbled Western Conference playoff picture will continue to shake out tonight when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz. The Thunder, who are attempting to sweep the seaso
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Jackson makes D-Backs debut versus Padres >>
Rox attempt to continue mastery of Milwaukee >>
Kovalchuk, Devils head to Atlanta to battle Thrashers >>
Sportsbook Betting LinesWho 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 MadeThe 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 ChangeOnce 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. |
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