Hawks hope to snap funk in DC

Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to avoid a third straight loss when they wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday night against the Southeast Division-rival Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

Atlanta is winless so far on the trek and is coming off Monday's 99-98 setback at New York in which Josh Smith posted a team-high 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out six assists. Al Horford did his best with 18 points and 12 boards for the Hawks, who have dropped two in a row since a four-game winning streak. Horford was unable to get off a possible game-winning shot as time expired.

"When I caught the ball, your instinct is just to shoot the ball. I wasn't aware of the clock, I didn't know what was going on. I just threw it up there," Horford told NBA.com "Obviously, it wasn't good but we had our chance."

Joe Johnson had 22 points and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jamal Crawford posted 16 in defeat. Crawford leads the NBA in scoring among players that have not started a game.

The Hawks, who are 15-16 as the guest, fell four games behind Orlando for Southeast supremacy, but are tied with Boston for the third spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Both Atlanta and the Celtics have dropped two in a row since four-game win streaks.

Washington has lost four straight and opened a short homestand with Tuesday's 96-88 setback versus the Houston Rockets. Andray Blatche and Nick Young both netted 18 points, while Al Thornton ended with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards, who are winless in their last four home games and 12-20 in DC.

"Their bigs outran our bigs," said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. "We don't run as fast from offense to defense as defense to offense."

James Singleton added 12 points in the loss, Washington's sixth in its last seven tries. In 11 games since the All-Star break, Blatche has averaged 23.5 points and 10.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Tonight's game is the third of four meetings between the Wizards and Hawks, as Atlanta holds a 2-0 edge and will visit Washington again on April 10. The Hawks have won the past seven matchups between the teams and are unbeaten in the previous four contests at the Verizon Center.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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