Bulls and Celtics clash in the Windy City
Basketball Betting Lines
02/16/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls resume a six- game homestand tonight aiming for a measure of revenge over the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics snapped a five-game winning streak by the Bulls in Beantown, 95-91, this past Sunday behind Rajon Rondo's ninth career triple- double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
Of course Chicago was without reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose in that one. The All-Star, who has missed three straight games with an ailing lower back, had an MRI earlier this week that revealed no structural damage but the feeling is that the Bulls will be very cautious with Rose and he is expected to sit again tonight.
"[It's] getting better," Rose said when talking about his back. "I shouldn't have any problems in the long run. I'm going to take my time and be smart."
Chicago improved to 6-2 without Rose, who has also missed some time with a toe injury, with a 121-115 win over Sacramento on Tuesday night.
Luol Deng had 23 points and 11 assists in that one as the Bulls survived after nearly blowing a 19-point lead. Joakim Noah added 22 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago bounced back from its loss to Boston to win for the sixth time in their last seven games and improve to a gaudy 10-1 at the United Center.
"It feels good to win. It's always great to win, but we have to be critical and understand that we need to play better," said Noah.
The Celtics, who are opening up a five-game road trip tonight, were not able to build on their win over the Bulls, losing to Detroit, 98-88, in Beantown on Wednesday.
Rondo scored a career-high 35 points and added six assists and five rebounds in that one for the Celtics, who were playing without Kevin Garnett (hip flexor) and lost for the third time in four games. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and JaJuan Johnson scored 10 points apiece for Boston.
"A disappointing loss to a team I thought we should have beat," Pierce said. "The defense just let us down tonight. We just consistently couldn't get stops."
Garnett's status for tonight is up in the air as Boston tries to improve on its 4-5 road record and attempts to halt a three-game regular season skid in the Windy City.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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