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03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats are coming off a huge win over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, and hope to stay within striking distance of a playoff spot when they resume a three-game homestand tonight versus the Golden State Warriors.
Charlotte, which is one game out of the playoff picture in the East, opened the residency last night with a sound 98-83 triumph over Kobe Bryant and the Lakers at Time Warner Cable Arena. Stephen Jackson scored 21 points and Gerald Wallace added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, who entered the game with five losses in their last six tries.
"When we play as a team on both ends, we give ourselves a chance to win," said Bobcats head coach Larry Brown. "This is a great win, but we have to understand why we won tonight. We defended; we shared the ball pretty good."
Tyrus Thomas contributed 14 points and nine boards, as the Bobcats cruised to the win thanks to a 51.4 shooting percentage. Charlotte will also host Miami on the homestand and is 21-8 as the host this season. The Heat are one game ahead of the Bobcats for the eighth and final postseason spot.
The road woes continued for Golden State on Friday, when they dropped a 127-122 decision in Atlanta to fall to 0-3 on a five-game road trip.
Rookie Stephen Curry recorded 31 points and 11 assists, while Anthony Morrow had 21 points for the Warriors, who ran their season-high road losing streak to nine straight games. C.J. Watson added 20 points in defeat.
"We played a pretty darn good game. Again, we had a chance. We needed to make a couple shots down the stretch, which we didn't do, and they made the free throws and did the right things," said Warriors coach Don Nelson, who is still seven victories away from breaking Lenny Wilkens' all-time record of 1,332 wins.
Warriors leading scorer Monta Ellis has missed the last four games and is out indefinitely. Center Andris Biedrins (groin) has been out three straight games and will be re-evaluated on Monday. Golden State will also visit New Orleans on the trek and owns a 4-26 road record this season.
Charlotte defeated Golden State, 121-110, back on January 29 in Oakland, as Jackson shined in his return to the Bay Area by pouring in 30 points. The Bobcats have won two straight against the Warriors.
<< Nets begin road swing at New York
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After losing all three games on a recent homestand, the New
Jersey Nets kick off a five-game road trip tonight against the local rival New
York Knicks at historic Madison Square Garden.
New Jersey will also make stops in M
<< Mavs try to push win streak to 11 in Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Dallas Mavericks will try to stretch their
season-high winning streak to 11 games tonight, when they open a short road
trip against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
The Mavs will also visit Min
<< Rockets open trek in Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets kick off a three-game road trip tonight
in the Twin Cities, hoping to win their 11th straight game over the lowly
Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves haven't beaten Houston since a 103-99 overtime
<< Grizzlies hope to solve home woes vs. Spurs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies are probably the only team in the NBA
that doesn't want to play on the home floor right now.
The Grizzlies have lost seven straight in front of the home crowd as they get
ready to host the San Anto
Bruins visit Isles in first stop of long trip >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins closed out their pre-Olympic break
schedule with excellent play on the road, something the team hopes carries
over when it opens up a season-long seven-game trek with this afternoon's
matchup with the New Yo
Hurricanes go for eighth straight in visit to Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A fire sale at the trade deadline has yet to slow down the
Carolina Hurricanes, who'll be taking aim at an eighth consecutive victory in
tonight's clash with the Southeast Division-rival Florida Panthers from the
BankAtlantic
Rangers brace for test from high-powered Caps >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling to keep the opposition off the scoreboard
their most recent time out, the New York Rangers now have to face the NHL's
most potent offense in tonight's showdown with the powerful Washington
Capitals from the V
Thrashers' playoff push resumes in Tampa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will shoot for a third straight
victory when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete
Times Forum.
The Thrashers have won two straight since the NHL came back from the Olympic
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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