AP source: Hawks set to hire Larry Drew as coach

Basketball Betting Lines

06/11/2010 -

ATLANTA (AP) -A person familiar with the situation says that the Atlanta Hawks are poised to hire Larry Drew as their next head coach.

The person spoke to The Associated press on condition of anonymity because the team is still working out details of the hiring on Friday.

Drew was an assistant under former coach Mike Woodson.

Woodson was fired by the Hawks after they were swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic. The choice of Drew was first reported by Yahoo.com.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Narketwatch Basketball Betting News


<< Texas holds the key in Big 12
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -With the future of the Big 12 at stake, University of Texas regents have scheduled a meeting for next week to decide whether the Longhorns will remain in the fast-disintegrating league or switch to another conference.Texas is con

<< BoSox make slew of roster moves before interleague set
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox made a quartet of roster moves on Friday, prior to the club's interleague series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Sox activated pitcher Jonathan Papelbon from the bereav

<< A-Rod MRI reveals hip tendinitis
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had an MRI exam Friday that revealed tendinitis is in his surgically repaired right hip. Rodriguez is out of Friday's lineup to begin a three-game interleague set with the

<< A's place C Suzuki on bereavement list
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have placed catcher Kurt Suzuki on the bereavement list. Suzuki is batting .274 with a team-best eight home runs and 29 runs batted in over 41 games this season. The 23-year-old

<< France held to scoreless draw by Uruguay
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France tied Uruguay 0-0 on Friday in its FIFA World Cup opener at Green Point Stadium, the third straight time France has failed to score in its tournament opener. France won the World Cup in 1

Penguins' Orpik operated on for sports hernia >>
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik has undergone surgery to repair a sports hernia and will require a month to six weeks of rehabilitation.A sports hernia occurs when there is a weakening of the muscles or tendon in the low

Boise State joins Mountain West Conference >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mountain West Conference announced Friday that Boise State has accepted an invitation to join the conference beginning July 1, 2011. Boise State moves on from the Western Athletic Conference a

Penguins' Orpik has successful surgery >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik underwent successful sports hernia surgery Friday, the club announced. The procedure was performed in Boston by Dr. David Berger. General manager Ray Sh

Pierzynski, Peavy help White Sox clobber Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Pierzynski finished 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI as the Chicago White Sox blitzed the Chicago Cubs, 10-5, in the opener of this three-game interleague series from Wrigley Field. Alex Rios was 4-

Kurt Busch captures Michigan pole >>
Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Busch edged Jamie McMurray in Friday's qualifying to take the pole position for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Qualifying was delayed briefly due to a shower

Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your basketball sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.