Hornets are fading

Basketball Betting Lines

12/11/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury bug is having a major effect on the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, who are 9-10 and sit in fourth place in the Southwest Division.

On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to win their third straight game when they visit the Hornets at the Ford Center. IT is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. the Cavaliers are scheduled to host the Hornets on February 27, 2007 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland has won three straight after losing its last 10 at the Hornets. The Cavaliers have won seven in a row in the series.

The banged-up Hornets try to put the brakes on a two-game losing streak against the Cavaliers. On Saturday, Warriors coach Don Nelson was finally able to celebrate win number 1,200 as the Golden State Warriors breezed by New Orleans/Oklahoma City, 101-80, at ORACLE Arena.

Desmond Mason led the Hornets with 24 points in the loss to Golden State. Jannero Pargo scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Rasual Butler netted 13 and reigning Rookie of the Year Chris Paul added 11 points for the Hornets, who have lost seven of their last eight games overall.

On the injury front for the Hornets, Peja Stojakovic (strained lower back), David West (strained right forearm) and guard Bobby Jackson (cracked left rib) are all hurt for the Hornets. West has not played since November 12th and is averaging 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds, while Stojakovic, who joined the club through a sign-and- trade with Indiana during the offseason, last played on November 24th. Jackson has missed four straight games and is expected to miss at least two weeks with his injury.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City, which plays the first of a three-game homestand, is 4-3 as the host this season. They will play the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday and the Dallas Mavericks on December 16th. The games against the Spurs and Mavericks are scheduled to be played at New Orleans Arena.

Paul leads the Hornets in scoring (18.2 ppg) and assists (8.2 apg), while Tyson Chandler is averaging a club-best 12.1 rebounds per game. The 6-0 Paul has scored in double-digits in 18 of 19 contests and has collected nine double-doubles.

The Hornets are 0-3 when they allow over 100 points this season.

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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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