Bucks welcome Rockets to the Bradley Center

Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks will resume a three-game homestand Monday versus the Houston Rockets at the Bradley Center.

Milwaukee has dropped two straight overall and suffered a 126-121 overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday in the opener of the residency. Ramon Sessions set a career-high with 44 points and dished out a season-high 12 assists in a losing effort.

Charlie Villanueva had a season-high 33 points and Richard Jefferson had 16 points for Milwaukee, which is 14-9 as the host this season. Keith Bogans, playing in his first game with the Bucks since a trade with Orlando during the week, had eight points in defeat.

The Bucks, who have lost four of six games, will also welcome the Central Division-rival Indiana Pacers to town on the homestand. Milwaukee is still playing without top guard Michael Redd (knee) and center Andrew Bogut (back). Guard Luke Ridnour is out as well with a thumb injury.

Houston has won three of its last four games and recorded a 107-90 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at the Toyota Center. Yao Ming shook off an illness to post 30 points and six rebounds for the Rockets, who got by despite Al Jefferson's 36 points and 22 rebounds.

Rafer Alston chipped in 22 points and six assists, while Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the win.

The Rockets, who are 13-14 as the visitor this season, handed the Bucks an 85-81 loss on December 31 this season in Texas. Yao finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which has won eight straight and 10 of the previous 11 matchups with Milwaukee.

Houston has won three straight and four of its last five at the Bradley Center.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

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