Sixers try to solve Heat in Philly
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02/03/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers may not possess the star power that Miami Heat bring to the court, but they have been every bit as good as their much-hyped counterparts in the early going this season.
Tonight, the Sixers eye a fifth straight win when they welcome Miami to the Wells Fargo Center.
Armed without a true superstar, Philadelphia continued to get help from everywhere on Wednesday against Chicago, as its bench sparked an 18-4 run in the opening quarter, giving it a lead it would not relinquish in a 98-82 win over the Bulls.
Andre Iguodala filled the stat sheet with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals while Jrue Holiday added 17 points and five assists for the Sixers, who got 50 points from their reserves and held a commanding 75-55 lead after three quarters.
"That was a tremendous game our guys played," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said. "Defensively, we were so good. When you play against Derrick Rose you have to do everything in your power to try and keep him away from that basket and out of the paint."
Philadelphia may not have a player who averages 16 points per game, but it is a squad that has won by 10-plus points 14 times this season and is outscoring opponents by a league-best 11.6 ppg. It's a defensive-minded group that has held opponents below 90 points in four straight contests and 15 times of the season (14-1).
The Sixers, who will be concluding a seven-game stretch at home, have been even better in their building, where they are a terrific 12-2 on the season.
"Play the teams in front you," the coach recently said. "It doesn't matter if you get [wins] in April, February, March, doesn't matter. Win at home and that's what we've got to keep doing."
Miami, meanwhile, had a five-game winning streak stopped on Wednesday in a 105-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points, including 24 in the first quarter, but it was not enough for the Heat to avoid falling for only the second time in their last 10 games.
"We didn't execute our offense," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Our carelessness with the ball allowed them to get back in the game."
Miami has won its last eight regular season meetings over the Sixers, including a 113-89 win back on January 21.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The well-rested St. Louis Blues will try to avoid just their second three-game losing streak under Ken Hitchcock when they host the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Scottrade Center. All in all, the Blues posted a terrific 8-1
<< Thunder, Grizzlies collide in OKC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Thunder make a quick stop back in Oklahoma City
searching for their sixth straight win tonight in the Sooner State when they
play host to the Memphis Grizzlies.
OKC, which has an NBA-best 17-4 record, is in t
<< Panthers hope to string together win streak vs. Jets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers will try to win consecutive games for
the first time since mid-December when they host the Winnipeg Jets for
tonight's clash at BankAtlantic Center.
The Panthers lost their last game before the All-Sta
<< Sliding Blackhawks make a stop in Calgary
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has not gotten its club record-tying road trip off
to the best of starts and a trip to Calgary may not be the remedy it is
looking for.
The Blackhawks try to avoid a season-high fifth straight loss overall and
sev
<< Pacers roll into Big D
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Pacers will shoot for a season-high
fourth straight win Friday when they visit Big D to take on their former
coach, Rick Carlisle, and the reigning NBA champion Mavericks.
Indiana opened a br
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets' disappointing season may have hit a new low point on Wednesday. They hope the return of sniper Jeff Carter can help turn things around this evening in the finale of a six-game road trip against the
Sharapova will lead-off for Russia against Spain >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2012 Fed Cup quarterfinal between host
Russia and Spain will commence Saturday with a singles match between
Australian Open runner-up Maria Sharapova and Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
"I'm
Sato signs with Rahal Letterman Lanigan for 2012 season >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing revealed on
Friday that Japanese driver Takuma Sato has joined the team for the 2012 IZOD
IndyCar Series season. Sato will drive the team's No.15 Honda entry.
RLL is runnin
Robert B. Lewis Stakes features Hall of Fame trainers >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three of the eight three-year-olds entered in
Saturday's $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park are trained by
a pair of Hall of Fame conditioners with Kentucky Derby aspirations. The 1
1/16-mi
Pens extend Vitale's contract >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed
forward Joe Vitale to a two-year contract extension.
The deal, which keeps Vitale in Pittsburgh through the 2013-14 season, is
worth an average value of $550
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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