76ers, Heat square off in South Beach

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Conference rivals meet in South Beach Saturday afternoon when the Philadelphia 76ers kick off a four-game road trip against the Miami Heat.

The Sixers dropped their second straight game since the All-Star break on Wednesday when Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets continued a successful run on the road with a 101-89 victory over Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center.

Andre Miller paced Philadelphia with 17 points but left in the third quarter with a right calf strain and did not return.

Lou Williams contributed 15 points off the bench, while Thaddeus Young and Samuel Dalembert each had 12 points in the loss, the Sixers' second in a row following a four-game win streak.

Andre Iguodala was just 1-of-6 from the field for 10 points in 27-plus minutes and fouled out for the first time this season.

Miller is listed as questionable after an MRI exam Thursday confirmed he suffered a right calf strain. The 32-year-old Utah product, who is averaging a team-best 6.4 assists and 15.8 points this season, has played in 501 consecutive games, the NBA's longest active streak.

Philadelphia will also visit New Jersey, Washington and New York on its trek.

The Heat, meanwhile, opened a short two-game homestand in losing fashion on Wednesday after Sebastian Telfair made six of Minnesota's 14 three-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points, as the Timberwolves topped Miami, 111-104.

Dwyane Wade had 37 points and 12 assists, while Udonis Haslem added 17 points for the Heat, who fell to 17-10 as the host this season. Miami center Jermaine O'Neal made his debut with the team after being acquired from Toronto over the All-Star break, along with forward Jamario Moon.

O'Neal ended with 13 points, but his introduction wasn't enough for the Heat to post their second consecutive win, as they beat Chicago on February 12. Miami hasn't won back-to-back games since a three-game streak from January 24-28. O'Neal (eye) and Wade (flu) are probable versus the 76ers, while James Jones (wrist/hand) is listed as questionable.

The Heat and Sixers have split a pair of games this season with Philadelphia winning the most recent encounter, 94-84, on February 7 in the City of Brotherly Love. Overall, Philly has taken six of its past seven meetings with Miami but was routed in South Beach, 106-83, early this season.

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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.

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