Lin, Knicks aim to bounce back vs. Hawks

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sudden New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin was brought back to reality when New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams took him to school in a recent contest at Madison Square Garden.

Arguably one of the fanciest point guards in the NBA, Williams racked up 38 points in New Jersey's 100-92 victory in New York on Monday, leaving the Knicks with two losses in their last three games following an inspirational seven-game winning streak. Lin and the Knicks look to bounce back tonight versus the Atlanta Hawks in the finale of a five-game homestand.

Lin led the way with 21 points and Amare Stoudemire scored 17 for New York, which welcomed the return of injured forward Carmelo Anthony. Anthony had missed seven straight games with a groin injury and posted 11 points and six assists in 37 minutes. Landry Fields had 10 and 11 rebounds in defeat.

"I think any time you have three new players, people coming back your identity as a team is going to change with the personnel," said Lin, who fouled out for the first time in his career. "We are not in panic mode because it is not like people show up and you have great chemistry. We have to work through some struggles but as long as we are all committed we will be fine."

Lin is averaging 24.6 points as a starter (9 starts) and has scored 20-plus points nine times this season. Meanwhile, Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert sat out with a left knee injury and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. He is expected to compete in the dunk contest Saturday night and is listed as questionable for this evening.

New York is 2-2 on the residency and owns a 9-9 record in the Big Apple this season. After hosting Atlanta in the finale of the homestand, the Knicks will play five of six on the road, including Thursday's matchup in Miami.

February hasn't been too kind for the Hawks, as they sport a 3-7 mark through 10 games this month. The Hawks will close out a five-game road trip tonight against the Knicks and dropped to 1-3 on the swing following a 90-79 loss at Chicago on Monday night.

The Bulls welcomed back reigning MVP Derrick Rose and the All-Star guard posted 23 points in over 34 minutes of action. Rose had been out for quite some time with a lower back issue. Jannero Pargo had a season-high 19 points off the bench and Josh Smith added 17 and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, which got 12 points from Joe Johnson.

Johnson, however, is expected to miss a week of action because of left knee tendinitis. Johnson, the team's leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, left Monday's game after just 21 minutes because of the problem.

Atlanta expects to have forward Marvin Williams back for Wednesday's game after he missed the 90-79 loss to the Bulls to attend the funeral of a family member. He is averaging 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 28 games this season.

The Hawks, who are 10-8 as the guest, will return to Georgia for a four-game homestand versus the Magic, Warriors, Bucks and Thunder after visiting the Knicks. New York and Atlanta split four meetings a year ago and the Knicks have won seven of the past 10 matchups between the teams.

Atlanta has lost seven of 11 and 17 of its last 22 at New York.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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