Bosh set to return as Raptors host Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors are currently mired in one of their worst losing spells of the season, but relief finally appears to be on the way.

With Chris Bosh expected to return to the lineup, the slumping Raptors will try to remain undefeated against the New York Knicks this season when the two Atlantic Division foes square off tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

Bosh has sat out Toronto's last six contests with a sprained left ankle suffered in an overtime loss to Memphis on February 17. The Raptors were able to beat doormats New Jersey and Washington in their first two outings without their All-Star forward, but have since lost four straight games and been held under 100 points in three of those tilts.

Prior to an 101-87 home setback to Portland on February 24, Toronto had eclipsed the century mark in a franchise-record 20 consecutive games.

The Raptors struggled on the offensive end once again in Monday's 116-92 defeat at Houston, shooting a mediocre 44.2 percent from the floor and falling behind by 32 points at the end of three quarters.

"I think we have to look back (to) what we used to be successful (at) and do it again," said Toronto's Hedo Turkoglu after the game. "Hopefully we'll limit some mistakes."

Having Bosh, who had averaged 29.2 points and 11.4 rebounds in five February games prior to getting hurt, should certainly help the Raptors. So could a matchup with the Knicks, who have lost twice to Toronto at Madison Square Garden earlier this season and are 3-13 over their last 16 overall games.

New York does enter tonight's clash on a positive note, though, after coming through with a lopsided home victory over Detroit on Wednesday. Al Harrington made six three-point field goals and finished with 26 points to pace the Knicks' 128-104 rout, while Bill Walker added a career-best 22 points in his first start as a member of the team.

Tracy McGrady and Eddie House, two players the Knicks acquired just prior to the February 18 trade deadline, also made strong contributions to Wednesday's win. McGrady ended with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while House poured in 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench.

Walker, who came over with House from Boston in the deal that sent guard Nate Robinson to the Celtics, started in place of Wilson Chandler, who missed a second straight game due to a personal matter but is expected to be available for tonight's test.

On the Toronto side, Turkoglu sat out the second half of Wednesday's loss with a mild ankle sprain but is slated to play tonight. Point guard Jose Calderon, who was inactive for the Houston game with a lacerated elbow, appears ready to return as well.

The Raptors have won four of the last five overall meetings in this series, as well as nine of their past 10 encounters with the Knicks held at the Air Canada Centre. New York did prevail in its most recent trip to Toronto, however, earning a 112-103 win there on April 5 of last season.

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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.