Blazers visit reeling Kings

Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reeling Sacramento Kings will attempt to halt a five- game losing streak when they entertain a Portland Trail Blazers club trying to figure out how to get it done away from Rip City.

The Kings were competitive in their last outing on Tuesday but came up short when Brandon Rush poured in 20 points off the bench, including 15 in the fourth quarter, as Golden State held off Sacramento late for a 93-90 victory at ORACLE Arena.

Tyreke Evans just missed a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists and DeMarcus Cousins added his sixth double-double in seven games scoring 21 points and pulling down 14 boards.

Jason Thompson also contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards for the Kings, who are now a dismal 2-11 on the road. Sacramento is a more competitive 4-4 at Power Balance Pavilion.

"From an offensive standpoint, we shot a good percentage tonight for our team," said Kings coach Keith Smart. "It's a positive for us, overall, and unfortunate we didn't get the win."

The Blazers, meanwhile, have been excellent at the Rose Garden, improving to 10-1 on their home floor Wednesday with a 112-68 rout of the hapless Charlotte Bobcats. The road, however, has been a different story and Portland will try to improve on its 3-8 mark as the visitor tonight.

Jamal Crawford scored 24 points while ex-Bobcat Gerald Wallace netted 23 points against his former team last night.

"My teammates did a good job finding me," Crawford said. "It's never just the guy making the shots."

LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points while Marcus Camby blocked five shots for the Blazers, who shot a gaudy 55 percent from the floor vs. Charlotte's 32.1 percent. Raymond Felton also had 11 points and dished seven assists.

"The defense was really good all night," Portland head coach Nate McMillan told the team's website.

On the injury front for the Blazers forward Nicolas Batum is expected to miss his second straight game with a bone bruise on his left knee.

Portland, which will be attempting to halt a three-game road losing streak tonight, has taken five straight against the Kings in Sacramento and 11 of 12 overall in the series.

Wwwsportbet Basketball Betting News

<< Sharks, Stars renew hostilities in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks turned in an impressive performance in their first game following the All-Star break and the Pacific Division leaders will aim for a third straight win tonight when they host the rival Dallas Stars at HP P

<< Blackhawks try to stop slide in Edmonton
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The return of two of Chicago's top forwards wasn't enough to halt the club's losing streak last time out and the Blackhawks will try to avoid matching their longest skid of the season tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oile

<< Avs host Wild in Northwest Division battle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key battle in the Western Conference playoff race is on tap tonight in Denver, as the sliding Colorado Avalanche host the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center. Despite posting just four wins in their last 20 games (4-12-4)

<< Hot Hawks kick off homestand vs. Grizzlies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks are back home after an impressive road trip and will kick off a four-game residency this evening versus the Memphis Grizzlies. Hidden in all the hype by the likes of Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia in the

<< Fernandez-Castano takes lead in Qatar
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano shot a six-under 66 on a windy Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Qatar Masters. The Spaniard birdied four of his final five holes at Doha Golf Club to take a one-shot le

Improved Clippers aim for another win over Nuggets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers seem to grow more imposing by the day and will aim get the best of Denver for the second time in less than a week when the two teams square off at Staples Center. The Pacific Division-leading Clips

Bruins try to solve visiting Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Try as they may, the Boston Bruins haven't been able to solve the Carolina Hurricanes this season. They'll get one more chance tonight as the two teams clash in Boston. The Bruins and Hurricanes sit at opposite ends of the

Furman to visit Clemson, host five games in 2012 >>
Greenville, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A visit to Clemson and a Homecoming game against Georgia Southern highlight the 2012 Furman football schedule announced on Thursday. Furman will play at Clemson on Sept. 15. The Paladins are Clemson's oldest

Jazz and Warriors meet in the Bay Area >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State hopes to wrap up a six-game homestand in winning fashion tonight when it plays host to a Utah Jazz team aiming to bounce back from a tough loss. After losing the first two games of their current residency, the

Bulls resume long trek in MSG against Knicks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have been struggling with consistency lately and look to gain a measure of balance tonight in a showdown with the New York Knicks from Madison Square Garden. The Bulls, who are in the midst of a nine-game

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .