Bobcats hope to end road woes in Philadelphia

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" easily coincides with how the Charlotte Bobcats have been playing this season. The road less traveled would be the one headed towards Charlotte, and that's made all the difference for the club's playoff hopes.

The Jekyll-and-Hyde Bobcats have been a different story on the road, and will be put to the test again tonight regardless if they're playing the struggling Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.

The Bobcats, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and coming off a perfect three-game residency, have dropped four of their last five road games and own an 8-23 record as the guest.

Charlotte just pushed its home ledger to 23-8 with Tuesday's 83-78 victory over Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, as Raymond Felton stepped up to post 15 points and a season-best 11 assists. Stephen Jackson added 17 points and Boris Diaw contributed 11 and eight rebounds for Charlotte, which matched the franchise mark of 23 home wins in a season set last in 2008-09.

"We've become a better team in the last week because we were pretty bad about two weeks ago," Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said. "I think the key is we are defending much better."

The Bobcats have never made the playoffs in the club's history.

Philadelphia's season can be compared to a Stephen King novel under first-year head coach Eddie Jordan, whose Princeton offense has seen better days than the Zelda character from Pet Sematary. The Sixers have lost six of their last seven games and suffered a 107-96 setback at Indiana last night.

Jrue Holiday had 21 points to lead the Sixers, who ended a five-game slide with Sunday's victory at Toronto. Samuel Dalembert totaled 16 points, 11 boards and four blocks in defeat.

"They were playing a small lineup," Jordan said of the Pacers. "We were concerned about matchups, but not overly concerned. We just wanted to play with the unit that gives us the most energy. We did not do enough to win."

According to multiple sources, Jordan is expected to be fired at season's end. He was named the 22nd head coach in club history last May.

The 76ers will also play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the short homestand and are 10-19 in the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia has won six of its past 13 home games after starting the season 4-12 at the Wachovia Center.

The 2009-10 season set between the Bobcats and 76ers is tied at a game apiece, while Charlotte has won nine of the last 15 meetings. Philadelphia, however, has won eight of the 10 all-time matchups as the host in this series.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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