Gay, Grizzlies pay a visit to Clippers
Basketball Betting Lines
01/26/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis Grizzlies leading scorer Rudy Gay was averaging more than 20 points during his team's season-high seven-game winning streak, but was held in check the last time out in a loss at Portland.
Gay and the Grizzlies aim to start a new winning streak when they resume a four-game road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Memphis was one win away from matching a franchise-best eight-game winning streak set from Jan. 11-25, 2004 and dropped a 97-84 decision to the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Gay, who is averaging a team-best 18.4 ppg, posted 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting and O.J. Mayo recorded a team-high 20 points off the bench.
Marc Gasol had an off night, ending with seven points, four rebounds and three assists for the Grizzlies, who shot 37.8 percent and were outrebounded by a 50-39 margin. Memphis also sank just 3-of-14 three-pointers and was averaging 102.0 points during the win streak.
"We gave all we had," said Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, "it just wasn't enough tonight. That was simply the bottom line."
Memphis is also 9-4 since All-Star forward Zach Randolph went down on January 1 with a torn MCL. Randolph is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks of action.
The Grizzlies, who were playing their second straight game and fourth in five days, are 4-5 away from Beale Street this season and will close out the journey Saturday at Phoenix. The last time Memphis lost two in a row was during a three-game slide from Jan. 6-10. It had won three straight on the road until losing at Portland and is a game behind idle San Antonio for the top spot in the Southwest Division.
Los Angeles has alternated wins and losses over its last six games and dropped a 96-91 decision to the rival Lakers last night. Blake Griffin registered a game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while Chris Paul returned from a five-game absence because of a hamstring injury to post four points and 12 assists for the Clippers. LA went 3-2 without Paul in the lineup.
"It was a frustrating loss, but it was good to get Chris out there," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I thought we made them earn it at the end. We didn't execute a couple of plays down the stretch that hurt us."
Caron Butler and Mo Williams both had 16 points in a losing effort. Williams was averaging 25.6 points in his previous three games.
The Clippers are 8-2 as the host this season and will hit the road to Denver following tonight's tilt with Memphis.
Los Angeles and Memphis have split the past eight meetings between the teams, but the Clippers are riding a modest two-game winning streak in the series. The Grizzlies have lost seven of nine meetings as the guest against the Clips.
Griffin posted 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in four games against the Grizzlies last season. Gay only appeared in one of those contests, posting 12 points in 44:00 minutes of an 84-83 win on Dec. 11 in Hollywood.
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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.
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.
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.
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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