Thunder make a stop in Houston

Basketball Betting Lines

02/15/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City makes a quick trip down to south Texas on Wednesday to take on the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

The Thunder improved to an NBA-best 22-6 on Tuesday in OKC, topping Utah for the second time in four days, 111-85. Super sub James Harden scored 22 points and dished out five assists off the bench in that one to lead the Thunder.

Kevin Durant had 21 points and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook added 16, while Serge Ibaka notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its seventh straight at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"We wanted to play a little harder," Durant told the Thunder's website. "I think that was what we did. We kind of focused on that, and guys are playing hard and playing together. That's the ingredients for us to get a win."

Oklahoma City shot 54.5 percent from the field, while holding Utah to just 35.6 percent.

"We're at our best when we're playing defense and making them take tough shots," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, who will coach the Western Conference All-Stars later this month.

The Thunder, who will return to the Sooner State to kick off a five-game homestand after tonight's contest, have also been solid on the road, compiling a 12-5 mark including another win over the Jazz last Friday.

Houston, which is opening up a six-game homestand tonight, just completed a six-game road trip with a 3-3 mark but dropped the final two games on the trek, including a 93-83 setback in Memphis on Tuesday.

Kyle Lowry led all scorers with 24 points in that one and Courtney Lee added 13 points for the Rockets.

"They played harder than we did tonight," Houston head coach Kevin McHale said. "It took us a long time to get engaged in the type of game it was, which was going to be a grind-it-out one, as you could see (from) the first quarter. You can't ease into a game like that."

The Rockets, who will also host Minnesota, Utah, Memphis, Philadelphia and Toronto on its residency, are a solid 10-3 in Space City this season.

OKC has won four straight and six of seven overall vs. Houston.

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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.

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

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