Nash, Suns shine over Pacers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2007 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists as the Phoenix Suns came back from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit to win going away, 103-92, over the Indiana Pacers.

Amare Stoudemire had a monster game, with 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Shawn Marion scored 22 points for the Suns, who won their fifth straight.

Jermaine O'Neal finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocked shots, but couldn't prevent the third straight loss for the Pacers. Darrell Armstrong scored 17 points for Indiana, and Mike Dunleavy added 16 points.

Raja Bell opened the fourth quarter with a three and a layup, pulling the Suns to within 79-78, and capping a 19-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, all but erasing an 18-point Pacers lead.

Indiana still held an 88-85 lead with 6:35 left, but Nash powered a 10-0 run with eight straight points, and his three with 4:43 left posted the Suns to a 95-88 lead.

The Pacers had no answers on the offensive end, and were outscored 18-4 to close the game.

Indiana appeared to be heading to an impressive blowout win with a hot start to the third quarter. Ahead 57-55, the Pacers rolled off 10 straight points, taking a 67-55 lead after a Dunleavy trey with 7:45 left. The 10-0 run was part of a 20-4 stretch, and the Pacers lead bulged at 77-59 with 4:57 left.

Indiana's 18-point lead was short-lived, though, as Stoudemire scored eight points down the stretch to power a 14-2 Suns run, and Phoenix pulled to within 79-73 entering the final 12 minutes.

The teams were tied at 19 after one quarter, and O'Neal, who scored 18 points in the first half, scored the last six Pacers points to give Indiana a 50-49 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Phoenix improved to 14-0 on the road versus East this season...Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley sat with a sore leg...The two teams meet again Friday night in Phoenix.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.