Sessions, Bucks snap slide against Rockets

Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2009 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Sessions led a balanced scoring attack with 26 points to go with seven assists, leading Milwaukee to a 124-112 victory over Houston and snapping the Bucks' eight-game losing streak against the Rockets.

Milwaukee, playing without guards Michael Redd (knee) and Luke Ridnour (thumb) as well as center Andrew Bogut (back), had lost its previous two games but shot 52.8 percent from the floor and forced 18 turnovers.

Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva each scored 25 points, while Charlie Bell added 21 points off the bench in the victory.

Aaron Brooks had 23 points, while Luis Scola and Ron Artest each logged 20 points for Houston, which had won three of four prior to its test in Brew City. Yao Ming grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds but was held to seven points.

Tracy McGrady was also shut down with a mere three points on 1-of-9 shooting.

A 12-2 Milwaukee run early in the first quarter set the tone for the game. The hosts led 32-25 after one period and clung to a 64-58 lead at the break.

A two-minute stretch midway through the third essentially sealed the bout, as Villanueva powered the Bucks on a 14-0 run. The UConn product started the rally with a pair of free throws, added a jumper and increased the margin to 87-65 with back-to-back three-pointers around the four-minute mark.

The lead stayed the same, 98-76, entering the fourth, and the Rockets didn't have the fire power to mount a miracle comeback.

Game Notes

Milwaukee signed guard Eddie Gill to a 10-day contract on Monday...Keith Bogans, who was making his home debut since being traded last week from Orlando, scored 13 points for the Bucks...Milwaukee committed just eight turnovers...Houston shot 12-for-26 from three-point range, while the Bucks made 10-of-20 from downtown.

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Betting Football

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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.