Sixers try to bounce back vs. bumbling Bobcats

Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from a rare loss at home this evening when they welcome the hapless Charlotte Bobcats to the Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia lost for only the second time in 10 tries in front of its fans on Wednesday, falling in overtime, 97-90, to the New Jersey Nets.

Lou Williams ended with 17 points and six assists for Philadelphia, which fell to 8-2 at home this season. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday had 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Trailing by four, 88-84, with 2 1/2 minutes left in overtime, Philly ripped off six straight points to take the lead. Holiday capped the surge with an easy steal off an inbounds pass and slam, making it 90-88 with 1:18 to go.

But Deron Williams made a jumper and three-pointer around Jodie Meeks' missed three-pointer to give New Jersey a 93-90 edge with 26.8 seconds left. The Nets then sealed the win with four free throws.

"We had five fast break points tonight. That was the difference," said Sixers coach Doug Collins. "We never could get out and run."

After winning nine of 10 games, the Sixers have now lost three of five and have surrendered 95.4 points-per-game in doing so. Not helping any is the fact that the team is without its two centers Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and Nik Vucevic (quadriceps).

"We definitely need our bigs," Brand said. "We're looking forward to getting them back, but we just couldn't get stops."

The Sixers added some depth earlier Friday by signing veteran free agent center Francisco Elson.

"We are happy to pick up Francisco Elson, a veteran big man who can help bolster our front court, Sixers president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said when announcing the signing.

Charlotte, meanwhile, continues to be one of the league's worst teams at 3-16. The Bobcats dropped their sixth straight game on Wednesday to the equally anemic Washington Wizards, losing 92-75.

Matt Carroll scored 17 points in his first start of the year for the Bobcats, who were without starters D.J. Augustin (toe) and Gerald Henderson (back).

The Bobcats got help from rookie Kemba Walker, who scored eight points to go with four assists and six boards in place of Augustin; and Tyrus Thomas, who added 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks for Charlotte, which has dropped seven in a row on the road.

"As I said last night, take three or four of your best players off any team, and you're not gonna play well," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said about his team's recent injuries. "Our scorers, our two leading scorers are not playing, how are we gonna score?"

The loss was the 12th in 13 tries for the Bobcats, who will be without Augustin again tonight. Henderson will likely be a game-time decision.

Philadelphia could have an even bigger edge tonight, as the home team in this series has won the last four and seven of the last eight contests. Charlotte has also dropped 10 of its last 13 in the City of Brotherly Love.

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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.