Spurs continue Rodeo Road Trip in Philly

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs were able to get their annual Rodeo Road Trip off to a promising start, but must face a pesky Philadelphia 76ers squad that hasn't backed down from any team tonight at Wells Fargo Center.

San Antonio kicked off the nearly 8,000-mile trip with an 89-84 triumph in Memphis on Monday, as Tony Parker led the Spurs with 21 points and Tim Duncan recorded his team-high seventh double-double with 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Tiago Splitter added 14 points in a reserve role for the Spurs, winners in five straight.

"All our young guys are playing well. It's going to help us down the road," Parker said.

The Spurs are only 4-8 away from the Alamo City, but have improved tremendously on the road after losing there first five games there. They will also visit the Nets, Pistons, Raptors, Clippers, Jazz, Blazers and Nuggets on the nine-game trek. After starting the season with nine of 13 games at the AT&T Center, the Spurs are currently in the midst of playing 16 of 21 games on the road. San Antonio, which is on top of the Southwest Division, doesn't return home until opening a seven-game residency versus Chicago on Feb. 29.

Duncan, who also swatted a season-best five shots in Memphis, passed Charles Oakley with his rebounding effort against the Grizzlies and is one of the top-20 rebounders of all-time. The future Hall of Famer also recorded his second double-double in a row after he posted 13 points and 15 rebounds Saturday in a home win over Oklahoma City. He is averaging 18.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his last five games.

Philadelphia has turned heads so far in this condensed season and recorded its sixth win in seven tries with Monday's hard-fought 95-90 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of a three-game homestand.

The Atlantic Division-leading Sixers used a 14-2 run late in the game to erase an 86-79 deficit and received a big lift from reserve Lou Williams. Williams scored seven straight at one point during the spurt and finished with 24 points for the 76ers, who pushed their home record to 13-3 and were coming off of Saturday's road win at Atlanta. Jrue Holiday scored 13 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 in the win.

"That was an amazing win for us. I didn't know how we were going to battle through their size," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said. "Lou [Williams] got hot at the right time for us."

Collins' club, which is 5-3 against the West this season, had a season-low four turnovers, a floor record for any team since Wells Fargo Center opened back in 1996. The Sixers will close out the residency versus the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night. Sixers forward Elton Brand missed his second straight game with a sprained right thumb and is questionable for Wednesday.

Sixers center Spencer Hawes is doubtful with a sore Achilles.

Tonight, the Sixers are trying to win two straight over the Spurs for first time since sweeping the home-and-home series back in 2003-04 (11/14/03-1/3/04). San Antonio has lost four in a row at Philadelphia, last winning there Jan. 21, 2007 in a 99-85 decision.

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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.