Hawks commence trek against Lakers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will kick off a five-game road trip tonight at Staples Center when they take on a Lakers team returning from its annual Grammy trek.

The Hawks, who will also visit Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and New York on their trip and are 9-5 as the visitor on the season, failed a big test the last time out, falling to Southeast Division-rival Miami, 107-87, in the ATL.

The division-leading Heat led by as many as 32 against the second-place Hawks. They outscored them at the foul line, 26-6, and won the battle on the glass, 52-38.

Willie Green scored 17 points off the bench to pace Atlanta, while All-Star Joe Johnson netted 12 in defeat. Marvin Williams and Josh Smith combined for just 14 points on 6-of-21 (29 percent) shooting.

The Hawks were coming off wins over Eastern Conference contenders Indiana and Orlando and were looking to cut into their two-game deficit in the standings. Their quest was denied early and emphatically.

"They came out with an aggression," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. "We settled for jump shots too often in the first half, and they got out and ran."

The Lakers, meanwhile, salvaged a 3-3 mark on their recent road trip when Kobe Bryant buried a jumper with 4.2 seconds left on Sunday, lifting LA to a thrilling 94-92 win over the Raptors.

"I just noticed a spot open on the baseline. Everything was set for me to try and catch it down there because I knew I could catch and shoot. If I go to the top of the floor the defense can kind of key on me and I'm far away from the basket. Once I noticed that space open it was just a matter of me trying to shake [DeMar} DeRozan and get to that spot," Bryant said.

Following a timeout, Toronto was called for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds pass and Bryant made 1-of-2 from the line to make it 94-92. With 3.7 seconds remaining, DeRozan received the inbounds pass, but Metta World Peace defended him well and his shot from the left corner at the buzzer came up well short.

Bryant finished with 27 points while Pau Gasol filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers.

"We just need to find some consistency," World Peace said of the road trip. "Once we have some consistency, we'll be a better team."

LA has been a different team at home this season, compiling a solid 11-2 mark as the host. Atlanta, meanwhile, has lost five straight and 18 of 21 to the Lakers in Hollywood.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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