Mavs host Blazers in Big D

Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas will kick off a three-game homestand tonight by welcoming the Portland Trail Blazers to American Airlines Center.

The reigning NBA champion Mavericks have won two straight after an uncharacteristic three-game skid, including Friday's 104-97 win in Minneapolis against the Timberwolves.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points in that one while Jason Terry added 16 points. Vince Carter had 12 and Jason Kidd returned from a six-game absence due to a calf injury to hand out 10 assists.

"He's a big part of our heart and soul," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Kidd. "When we're without him, we can win some games but we're not the same team."

After tonight's game vs. Portland, the Mavs, who are 9-5 in Big D, will finish their residency against the Clippers and Nuggets. Dallas, which has lost two in a row at home, hasn't dropped three straight on its floor since a four-game hiccup to begin the 2008-09 season.

The Blazers, meanwhile, got a rare road win Friday over hapless New Orleans. Jamal Crawford dropped a season-high 31 points and added a game-high eight assists off the bench, as Portland pulled away from the Hornets, 94-86.

Raymond Felton added 18 points, while Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge each contributed 14 for the Blazers, who stopped a two-game skid and improved to 4-9 as the visitor, although two of those victories are against the hapless Hornets.

"Sometimes it's not about how you win, but the fact that you win," Portland head coach Nate McMillan said. "New Orleans played hard and they scrapped and played a good game. We did the things we needed to do down the stretch."

The Blazers have lost five consecutive and 20 of their last 25 in North Texas, including all three games there during last year's Western Conference quarterfinals.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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