Lin leads Knicks into Toronto

Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity goes north of the border this evening when Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks shoot for a sixth straight win against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

One night after netting a career-best 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Lincredible run continued in Minnesota, as the point guard from nowhere scored 20 points, including a go ahead free throw with 4.9 seconds remaining in the Knicks' 100-98 win over the Timberwolves.

"Obviously it was an ugly one. It was a gutsy one, it was a road win," said Lin. "Everybody was tired. But that's the duty of basketball. We never gave up. I struggled a lot tonight but I mean everyone who came in gave us a lift and picked us up."

The Knicks, who will start a five-game homestand after tonight's tilt, haven't won six in a row since a seven-game run from March 28-April 10.

"We've talked about it all year, that if we got a point guard who can set people up, then we'll be better off," head coach Mike D'Antoni said. "And it's happened."

Lin also had eight assists, while Iman Shumpert added 20 points and Landry Fields contributed 19 for the Knicks, who are expected to have Amare Stoudemire back in the lineup tonight. Stoudemire, of course, has missed the team's last four games following the tragic death of his brother.

"The only positive for us during that whole week was we were watching the basketball games and we were watching Linsanity," Stoudemire said. "My family was getting a kick out of it. That's the only smiles they really had all week."

The team's other star, Carmelo Anthony, remains sidelined with a groin injury, but could return by the end of the week.

Lin's strong play was rewarded on Monday when he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. In the four games since taken over the starting reins for New York, Lin has averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals. He also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts.

Toronto, meanwhile, enters tonight's tilt on the heels of a heartbreaking 94-92 loss to the Lakers.

After Kobe Bryant gave the Lakers a one-point edge with a right baseline jumper, Toronto was called for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds pass. Bryant then 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.

"I like my money, what little bit of money I make. I don't want to send it to the league. Mr. Foster saw it different," Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey said of the five-second call.

Jose Calderon netted a career-high 30 points for Toronto, which has lost four of its last five games.

The Raptors beat the Knicks earlier in the year and have won 11 of their last 14 at home in this series.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.