02/09/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending February 7.
James led the league in scoring with 35.0 points per game, as the Cavaliers went 3-0. On Saturday, James set a franchise record by scoring 35 points in the first half of a win over New York. He also tied a career-high with 15 assists in a victory over Memphis on February 2.
This is James' fifth weekly award this season.
Westbrook averaged 19.7 points, 9.7 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 steals in a week where the Thunder went 3-0. In a win against Golden State on Saturday, Westbrook nearly had a quadruple-double with 21 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and a career-high eight steals.
The second-year guard notched his first weekly award of the year and is the second consecutive Oklahoma City player to win the award, as Kevin Durant captured the honors last week.
Other nominees for the awards included Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Boston's Rajon Rondo, Charlotte's Stephen Jackson, Durant, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko and Deron Williams.
<< Lombardi's career night propels Phoenix over road-weary Oilers
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi had a career-high five-point
night with a pair of goals and three assists, as Phoenix blew out Edmonton,
6-1, for its seventh win in eight games.
Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 33 shots for t
<< Stewart, Yip help Avs upend Blues
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists as the
Colorado Avalanche downed the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, at Pepsi Center.
Brandon Yip had two goals while Paul Stastny added a goal and an assist for
the Avalanche
<< Jayhawks capitalize on turnovers to top Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris posted 18 points, eight rebounds
and four assists, as No. 1 Kansas overcame a poor shooting performance by
clamping down defensively on the 14th-ranked Longhorns to earn an 80-68 Big 12
victory
<< Carter and Orlando stay hot with win over Hornets
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored 34 of his season-high 48
points in the second half, rallying Orlando to a second straight victory,
123-117 over the New Orleans Hornets.
Carter scored nine during a 19-0 rally in
Gasol carries short-handed Lakers over Spurs >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol had a spectacular all-around game
with 21 points, 19 rebounds, a season-high eight assists and five blocked
shots, pacing the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-89 win over the San Antonio
Spurs.
Mavs send Warriors to ninth straight loss; Ellis hurts knee >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Terry made 6-of-9 three-point tries,
finishing with a season-high 36 points, along with nine assists and six
rebounds, as Dallas took control in the fourth quarter in a 127-117 victory
over Go
Berdych, Dent victorious in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and unseeded
American Taylor Dent were first-round winners Monday at the $600,000 SAP Open.
Dent topped fellow countryman Alex Bogomolov Jr, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on the indoor
hardco
Hoyas head north to battle Friars >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a statement victory, the
Georgetown Hoyas are slated to collide with the Providence Friars this evening
in a Big East Conference affair.
Georgetown had lost two of its previous three games heading
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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