Raptors still alive for playoff berth; host Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

04/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors have one last day to stake their claim for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but they will need some help to do it.

Sitting one game behind Chicago in the standings, the Raptors need to win tonight against the New York Knicks and hope the Bobcats upend Chicago in Charlotte. The prize isn't all that great, however, since the eighth seed will face league-leading Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs.

The Raptors kept hope alive on Monday when Andrea Bargnani posted 33 points and Amir Johnson added a career-high 26 on 10-of-12 shooting, as Toronto picked up a virtual must-win decision, 111-97, over the Pistons.

Jarrett Jack came off the bench and ended with 15 points and 12 assists for the playoff-hopeful Raptors, who shot 60 percent from the floor to snap a debilitating five-game slide.

A 104-88 drubbing at the hands of Chicago on Sunday gave the Bulls a one-game lead over the Raptors for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Toronto still has a chance, however, since it holds the tiebreaker over the Bulls by winning the season series.

"This was huge," Jack said of the win over Detroit. "We could have came in and packed it in...But we came in, fought hard and kept a professional mind set.

All-Star power forward Chris Bosh will miss his fifth straight game tonight after undergoing surgery on his broken nose last week.

The Knicks, meanwhile, will finish a franchise-worst ninth straight losing season tonight.

Danilo Gallinari and Sergio Rodriguez combined for 26 of New York's 40 fourth- quarter points on Monday, and the Knicks closed out their home schedule with a 114-103 comeback victory over the Washington Wizards.

David Lee led the way with 26 points and also had eight rebounds for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game skid. Gallinari scored 24 to go with eight boards, while Rodriguez had all his points in the final period.

It may have been Lee's final home game in a Knicks uniform. He's due to be a free agent this summer.

"It's going to be another interesting summer, probably the most interesting summer the NBA's had in years and years just because of the number of teams with cap space," Lee said. "There's bound to be a lot of movement. I've really enjoyed my time here in New York and I hope that it continues. That's my top priority, to be back here in New York."

Toney Douglas chipped in 16 points and Chris Duhon netted 14 for New York, which rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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