Orlando defeats Sixers

Basketball Betting Lines

11/06/2008 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Orlando Magic downed the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-88.

Jameer Nelson scored 16 points and doled out nine assists for the Magic, who have won three straight after starting the season 0-2. Dwight Howard had a quiet night by his standards, with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Mickael Pietrus added 12 points for Orlando.

Thaddeus Young scored 19 points to lead the struggling Sixers, who lost for the second time in two nights in Florida. Andre Iguodala had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, but shot 4-of-12 from the field, and Andre Miller scored 15 points but shot only 7-of-24 for Philadelphia, which was ripped in Miami on Wednesday, and has dropped four of six to start the season.

Samuel Dalembert had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers, who shot a horrific 37.9 percent from the field. Elton Brand had a tough night, scoring only six points on 3-of-8 shooting, but had 12 boards.

The Magic opened the second half with a 14-2 run, and took a commanding 23- point lead. Holding an 11-point edge as the third quarter began, Orlando took advantage of the ice-cold offensive performance by the Sixers, who started the quarter 1-for-6 along with two Brand missed free throws to fall behind 68-45.

Philadelphia cut to within nine points by the end of the quarter, and a Lou Williams layup brought the Sixers within 80-74 with 8:38 left in regulation. Howard and Nelson answered with baskets, though, and Turkoglu canned a three down the stretch as the Magic pulled away.

Lewis drilled an early three on a 10-2 Magic run to start the game, and Philly found itself in an early hole. The Orlando lead hovered around 10 points for most of the frame, until Lewis and Keith Bogans both made threes in the final 1:29, the latter sending the Magic into the second quarter holding a 30-16 lead.

An 8-0 Sixers run midway through the second quarter sliced the Orlando lead to 41-35, but Lewis answered a Brand layup with a basket of his own, and Turkoglu followed with a three. Nelson was fouled by Willie Green while attempting a three late in the first half, and drained all three free throws to give the Magic a 54-43 lead at the half.

Game Notes

The Magic have won eight of 10 over the Sixers in Orlando, and nine of 12 overall in the series...Philadelphia made 11-of-13 free throws, while Orlando shot 15-of-26 from the charity stripe...The Sixers outrebounded the Magic 54-46.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.