Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in Beantown
Basketball Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the
best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this
afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's
top squad, the Orlando Magic.
The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday
when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer
with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87
win.
Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who
have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07
season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis
had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth
quarter.
"I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first
half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we
thought that we could just outscore them."
Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game
against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury,
will be a game-time decision this afternoon.
The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an
embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in
their last encounter on Friday.
Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31
points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half-
second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision
at Amway Arena.
Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as
21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to
erase the deficit.
In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the
turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but
Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their
fifth home loss this season.
Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in
21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games.
"It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting
ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like
that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater."
Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual
game-winner was well off the mark.
The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts,
who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season
with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward
Kevin Garnett.
This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three
encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in
November.
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at Verizon Cente
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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