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Warriors' sale could mean tough sell for NBA in upcoming CBA fight

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07/16/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is an adage in politics - never let a serious crisis go to waste.

In these tough economic times, rank and file workers across America have never been more suspicious of management.

Most agree that the world's largest economy is not running on all cylinders right now and some even argue that it's come off the tracks completely, but most middle class employees can't help but get the feeling that management is using a bad situation to take advantage of them by scaling back on benefits and salary.

That kind of suspicion is about the only thing NBA players have in common with the middle class.

Since the league instituted a salary cap in 1984, it has grown from $3.6 million per team to a staggering a $57.7 million last season. In turn, player salaries have exploded, climbing from an average of $330,000 in '84 to $5.2 million by 2007-08. The numbers have stagnated a bit since then, but the average NBA salary has stayed above the $5 million mark.

That growth had the NBA crying poverty at every turn when the economy went south. Before the 2008-09 season, commissioner David Stern slashed 9 percent of his office staff in New York and played hardball with his officials, gaining significant reductions in the referees' retirement packages after threatening a lockout.

During the NBA's annual owners meeting in Las Vegas, buried among all the hoopla over the "Summer of LeBron," Stern claimed his league lost a combined $370 million thanks to the recession, a figure NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter balked at.

With the current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players set to end on June 30, 2011, Hunter thinks Stern is using fuzzy math in an attempt to control salaries and make other changes to the CBA.

"David's numbers are unfounded," Hunter told ESPN. "It's a severe exaggeration."

Stern cited slowing ticket sales in some markets and a hit in both television and merchandising revenue to back his claim, while Hunter pointed to the league's overall increase in ticket sales and a much-increased television audience for the NBA playoffs to bolster his case.

Recent empirical evidence supports Hunter and the players.

A doom-and-gloom prediction by the NBA that predicted the salary cap would decrease from $57.7 million to $50.4 million in 2010 was way off and the league announced that the cap would actually increase next season to $58 million, a development that actually upset a number of the league's owners, who were taken by surprise.

"As soon as we get it, we spend it," Stern said of the league's still solid revenue streams. "That is the current system. We try to compete. Our fans love that. So we'd like to keep the league as competitive as possible, give all of our teams the opportunity to tell their fans they have a chance to win, and have some profit in it for the owners."

Those same owners are continuing to spend at a breakneck pace despite the sour economy and Stern's moribund words, giving even pedestrian players like Chris Duhon and Hakim Warrick big paydays.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, not exactly the gold standard in the league, are set to sell for a record price. The Warriors. who were a disappointing 26-56 last season, are a lot closer to the Los Angeles Clippers than the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics, but that didn't stop an investment group led by Joseph Lacob to pony up a record price $450 million for the franchise, exceeding the $401 million Robert Sarver needed to buy the Phoenix Suns in 2004.

Both sides are distrustful of each other and are hunkering down and preparing for the worst work stoppage since the 1998-99 lockout.

"I'm preparing for a lockout right now, and I haven't seen anything to change that notion," Hunter said.

Don't expect Stern, a master negotiator, to blink and let this crisis go to waste.

"I don't know how many collective bargainings I've participated in over the last too many years," the commissioner said. "We've thus far only had one failure to reach a deal in 1998. And many of the others have started out poorly, had predictions of doom and gloom, et cetera. You just keep on plugging. I think we've got a long way to go, but we have a lot of time to get there. That's the optimism

"Judging from (the players') proposal, which basically embraces the current system, we haven't closed any gap yet. But we're going to be resilient and prepared to spend the time necessary to see whether there's a deal to be had here, and we're going to do it for as long as possible."

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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