NBA summer leagues shed more light on the draft
Basketball Betting Lines
07/16/2010 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This year's rookie crop got its first taste of
the NBA in the recently completed Orlando Summer League and the one in Las
Vegas which concludes on Sunday. Though it's not the competition the player
will see in the regular season, you can still get a good feel of the skill and
talent level in this setting.
In watching these games, it wasn't difficult to come away with some of the
steals and blunders of the draft. Here's some of the talent that stood out to
me in good and bad ways:
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: John Wall exhibited the talent that earned him the first
overall pick, but the point guard will have to cut down on the high turnover
totals that plagued him in college along with working on his perimeter game.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: Evan Turner, by his own admission, struggled pretty badly
in Orlando. He was used to controlling the ball at Ohio State and didn't
seem comfortable playing off the ball with Jrue Holliday running the offense.
Holliday, by the way, looks like he's really ready to make a real impact this
season.
NEW JERSEY NETS: Power forward Derrick Favors looked like the project he was
labeled before the draft. He needs a lot of work on his post-up game and mid-
range jumper. I think DeMarcus Cousins would've been a better choice at this
spot. New Jersey's second pick of the first round, Damion James, was very
impressive and looks like he's ready to make more of an impact than Favors in
his first season.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Wesley Johnson had problems creating his own shot off
the dribble, which is something you definitely don't want to see from the
fourth overall pick in the draft. I have a strong feeling the T-wolves will
regret this selection.
SACRAMENTO KINGS: Sacramento has to be thrilled with the play of Cousins, its
first-round pick. He scored inside and out, rebounded and passed the ball
extremely well while showing a really good feel for the game. The former
Kentucky center could turn out to be the second-best player in the draft.
DETROIT PISTONS: Greg Monroe did not look comfortable working in the low post.
He appears to have a small forward's game in a power forward's body.
UTAH JAZZ: A lot of people questioned Utah's selection of Gordon Hayward with
the ninth overall pick, and his play in Orlando showed why. He struggled to
get his shot off and his lack of foot speed hurt him on defense. I thought
Paul George would have been a much better choice than Hayward.
INDIANA PACERS: Speaking of George, he was clearly one of the standout players
in the summer league. His athleticism, size and length will be assets along
with his excellent basketball skills. George was selected 10th overall, but
looks like he should have gone a bit higher. And speaking of going
higher, Indiana's second-round pick (40th overall), Lance Stephenson, looks
like he should have gone much earlier in the draft. Character questions scared
off a lot of teams, but there doesn't seem to be much doubt about his skill
set.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS: The defending champs didn't select until 43rd and 58th
picks overall, but it looks like they came away with some NBA talent in small
forward Devin Ebanks and power forward Derrick Caracter. Ebanks showed good
play on both ends of the floor, while Caracter's play had me wondering how
this kid lasted until the third-to-last pick in the draft. He can score with
either hand around the basket, has a nice mid-range touch and showed the
ability to pass the ball out of the post, which is helpful in the Lakers'
triangle offense.
BOSTON CELTICS: Luke Harangody was one of the standouts in summer league play
and looks like one of the draft's big steals after being taken 52nd overall.
The Notre Dame power forward showed the willingness to bang inside and the
ability to step outside and hit 3-pointers.
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In these tough economic times, rank and file workers across America have
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Most agree that
Podolski claims he is committed to Cologne >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne's Germany international forward
Lukas Podolski has vowed to stay with his current club this summer, despite
links with a possible big-money move abroad.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine Worl
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Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.
Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.
These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
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