Sixers try to right the ship in Cleveland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will try to put the brakes on their first losing streak of the season when they square off with a Cleveland team that will be minus rookie star Kyrie Irving for a third consecutive game.

The Sixers closed out a seven-game stretch that head coach Doug Collins dubbed "Death Row" by faltering a little bit. The Sixers were 4-3 on the challenging stretch against NBA powerhouses Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio and the Clippers but dropped the final two, losing to the Spurs and then falling 78-77 to the Clips when Chris Paul hit the game- winning shot with 3.2 seconds remaining on Friday.

A pair of Lou Williams free throws had Philadelphia up, 77-76, with 18 seconds left, but Paul hit a twisting, fadeaway jumper near the foul line to win it.

The Sixers got 12 points from both Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, who added 10 boards. Williams finished with 11 points.

"Usually when you play these tough teams in a stretch like we did it usually carries over for a week or two," said Iguodala, who was named an Eastern Conference All- Star reserve on Thursday. "Hopefully it will continue to carry over with the high level that we've been playing at."

Philadelphia will play seven of its next eight games on the road, where it is 5-4 on the season.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have been competitive without their young leader, topping those same Clippers on Wednesday before losing in overtime to Milwaukee, 113-112, on Friday.

Antawn Jamison had a season-high 34 points against the Bucks, but missed a pair of free throws in the final seconds of regulation which would have sent Cleveland to its second consecutive win without Irving. Ramon Sessions finished with 12 points and a season-high 16 assists.

"A very disappointing loss," Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott said. "Our guys continued to battle. They played their butts off, so it's just a disappointing loss."

Irving, who is averaging 18.0 points and 5.1 assists, continues to recover from a concussion which he suffered during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's loss to Miami.

"We're still going through the NBA protocol, but he'll be out tonight and tomorrow," Scott said earlier Friday. "We'll just go from there. He's making improvements, but we're not going to risk putting him out there until the doctors say he's fine."

After this weekend's action, the Cavs don't play again until Wednesday against Indiana.

"We all know how serious this thing can be," Scott added. "That's why we are taking such a cautious look at this. We don't want to put a young man at risk. That's the biggest thing. The NBA has done a terrific job as far as trying to diagnose and figure out what to do with concussions."

In other injury news for Cleveland center Anderson Varejao was forced to leave in the third quarter against Milwaukee with a sprained right wrist and his status is unknown for tonight.

Philly has won two straight over the Cavs.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.