Hawks face tough test in trip to Portland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks resume a six-game road trip on Friday, when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

The Hawks improved to 2-1 on the trek Wednesday in Sacramento, where Mike Bibby poured in 29 points against his former team -- including a 4-for-7 performance from behind the arc -- to lead Atlanta in a 105-100 victory over the Kings.

The Hawks had lost eight consecutive times in Sacramento since posting a 100-94 win on February 23, 2000.

All-Star Joe Johnson added 20 points and six assists for the Hawks, who have won three of their last four overall and improved to 13-16 as the visitor on the year. Al Horford chipped in 18 points and 18 boards in the win, while Josh Smith notched 12 points.

Atlanta will finish its trip with visits to Utah and Denver.

The Blazers, meanwhile, won the opener of a three-game homestand on Wednesday, when Brandon Roy had a game-high 24 points and nine assists as Portland hung on to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, 94-90, at the Rose Garden.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 15 points and six rebounds for the Blazers, who are now a gaudy 21-5 as the host. Nicolas Batum ended with 11 points and Joel Przybilla pulled down a game-high 15 boards in the win.

The Blazers were without emerging center Greg Oden, who sat out the game with a bone chip in his left knee. He suffered the injury against the Warriors on February 12 and was also unable to play in the All-Star weekend's Rookie Challenge. Oden is currently listed as day-to-day but will remain on the sidelines tonight.

The oft-injured Oden, who was the first overall pick of the 2007 draft, missed all of last season after undergoing surgery on his right knee. He also sat out six games earlier this year recovering from a foot injury suffered in the opening game.

Portland has won three straight and 12 of its last 13 games against the Hawks.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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