Brand, Sixers get first road win in Toronto

Basketball Betting Lines

11/12/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elton Brand scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers downed Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors 106-96.

Andre Iguodala had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, which snapped a three-game skid. Andre Miller also scored 18 points, and Willie Green contributed 17 points and nine assists off the bench for the Sixers, who avenged an 11-point loss at home to the Raptors on October 29.

Bosh scored 30 points and raked in 12 rebounds, but the Raptors still suffered their second straight loss. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 points and 11 boards for Toronto, which has dropped four of five after winning three straight to start the season, including the season-opener in Philadelphia.

Toronto battled back from early 17-point deficit, pulling to within striking distance of the Sixers several times, but were never able to overtake the visitors. After a Bosh jumper cut the deficit to 85-80 early in the fourth quarter, a quick 8-0 Sixers push, capped by a driving Iguodala dunk, put Philadelphia up 93-80 with 6:52 to play.

Toronto never threatened again, as the Sixers picked up their first road win of the season in their fourth try.

The Raptors opened cold from beyond the arc, and the Sixers took advantage with two 8-0 runs, the second pushing Philadelphia ahead 22-11 with 2:44 left in the quarter. Philadelphia led 26-13 after the first quarter.

Philadelphia kept the pace up early in the second quarter, pushing its lead to 17 points after rookie forward Mareese Speights drained two free throws and nailed a jumper on consecutive possessions for a 37-20 Sixers advantage with 8:05 left.

The Raptors came roaring back, though, all but erasing the deficit with a 25-9 push. Toronto closed that run with 14-2 spurt, powered by eight points from Bosh. Bosh scored the last six points of the push, including a tip shot with 1:20 to play in the half that sliced the Sixers lead to 46-45.

Philadelphia led 51-45 at the half.

Toronto came as close as four points in the third quarter, pulling within 64-60 on two O'Neal free throws with 5:39 left in the frame, but Brand and Miller each made jumpers to restore an eight-point edge. The Sixers took a 78-71 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Raptors guard Jose Calderon left in the third quarter with a hamstring cramp...Bosh picked up his fourth double-double of the season, while O'Neal tallied his second...Speights scored 12 points and had seven boards in 20 minutes. He saw more time because starting center Samuel Dalembert was limited to 20 minutes because of foul trouble.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.