Points From Pacers Layup

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The Kansas product was acquired by the Hornets on January 4 as part of a three-team trade involving the Grizzlies and 76ers.

 

Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards have reportedly fired head coach Flip Saunders. Various media outlets, including the Washington Post, have reported that Saunders is out after a dismal 2-15 start. The Post added that lead assistant Randy Wittman has been elevated to interim head coach.

 

The Wizards were just 51-130 under Saunders. The team won only 19 games the year before Saunders arrived and improved to 26-56 in 2009-10, but finished just 23-59 in 2010-11 before this season's abysmal start.

 

Saunders has also been the head coach at Minnesota and Detroit, and owns a career record of 638-526.

 

Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin will miss four games due to an inflammatory condition of the sesmoid bones that lie in the flexor tendons on his right big toe. Augustin was seen by Charlotte orthopedist Dr. Bob Anderson on Tuesday.

 

He is averaging 13.6 points, 6.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 17 games this season.

 

Deng told reporters that he will attempt to play through the injury after a bit of time for healing.

 

East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey Nets forward Damion James underwent successful right foot surgery on Tuesday. He will miss the remainder of the season. The procedure, which was performed by Dr. David Porter at Indiana University Health Hospital in Indianapolis, involved the replacement of a screw in James' fifth metatarsal. He fractured the bone last season and originally underwent surgery on December 13, 2010.

 

Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies exercised the third-year contract option on swingman Quincy Pondexter Tuesday, keeping him on the team through the 2012-13 season. Pondexter has appeared in 16 games for Memphis this season, averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14.9 minutes a game.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Star forward Kevin Love will beat a Wednesday night deadline by signing a four-year, $62 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to a report. He is expected to sign the deal Wednesday afternoon in Dallas before the Timberwolves' game against the Mavericks, the St. Paul Pioneer Press has reported.

 

Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Bosh scored a season-high 35 points and the Miami Heat won another game without Dwyane Wade, holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-85, on Tuesday. The Heat went 4-1 on a five-game homestand, playing each game without Wade as he deals with a sprained right ankle. They are 7-1 without the All-Star guard in the lineup this season.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.