Hornets resume important trip with bout against Warriors

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets resume a five-game road trip in Oakland tonight, aiming for a season sweep of the woeful Golden State Warriors.

New Orleans has already topped the Warriors three times this season and will be aiming for its first sweep of Golden State since 2001-02.

The Hornets improved to 1-1 on their trek Monday in Los Angeles, where rookie Marcus Thornton hit a pair of three-pointers during a big New Orleans run in the fourth quarter and the Hornets pulled away late to beat the Clippers, 108-100.

David West led all scorers with 24 points, while rookie Darren Collison continued his solid play with 18 points and 14 assists for the Hornets, who have won 13 straight against the Clippers. Morris Peterson and Thornton each netted 17 points to help New Orleans break its seven-game road losing streak.

"I'm happy for our players to get the win," said Hornets coach Jeff Bower. "It was a tight game until the fourth quarter."

Despite the win, New Orleans is a miserable 8-14 since losing All-Star Chris Paul to a knee injury and is now an almost insurmountable 7 1/2 games behind Portland for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with just 14 left to be played.

The Warriors, meanwhile, lost for the seventh time in eight contests on Monday, when Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 124-121 win over Golden State, their ninth straight win over the Warriors.

Stephen Curry ended with 29 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who are a dismal 5-20 in their last 25 games and have the second-worst record in the West

Chris Hunter had a career-best 22 points, but Monta Ellis struggled in a big way for Golden State, going 5-of-23 from the field in a 13-point effort.

"I'm a shooter," Ellis said. "I'm a shooter until coach [Don Nelson] tells me not to shoot anymore."

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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