Bulls draw closer to playoffs with thumping of Philadelphia

Basketball Betting Lines

04/09/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyrus Thomas and Ben Gordon each scored 24 points as Chicago inched closer to a playoff berth with a 113-99 victory over slumping Philadelphia.

Derrick Rose added 16 points and eight assists, Brad Miller scored 15 points with six assists off the bench and John Salmons donated 14 points for the Bulls, who currently sit seventh in the Eastern Conference and can clinch a playoff spot with a Charlotte loss on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

Andre Miller led the Sixers with 20 points, Andre Iguodala added 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Lou Williams gave instant offense off the bench with 16 points. The Sixers have already made the playoffs but have lost three straight and five of eight overall.

Philadelphia clamped down defensively and spurted out to a 29-22 lead after one quarter following a Miller jumper and Green reverse layup to conclude the scoring. The Bulls deep bench and renewed defensive intensity flipped the momentum in the second stanza.

The Sixers held three 10-point edges in the period, but the Bulls took a two- point lead at 48-46 following 10 straight points in just over two minutes. Rose's slam and transition layup off a turnover bookended a scoring stretch that also included a Miller hook shot and a pair of Gordon threes.

The teams went into the locker in a 50-50 dead heat.

Philadelphia scored seven of the first nine points out of the locker room for a 57-52 margin but the Bulls charged back with a 13-4 stretch that included seven straight points at one point. A Gordon three followed by four points from Thomas opened the 65-61 advantage.

Chicago kept its foot on the accelerator, using some long-distance shooting from Salmons then inside buckets from Joakim Noah and Thomas to hold a 74-65 edge with 3:07 left in the period. Thomas calmly sank four free throws later in the quarter to make the difference 78-67 and the Bulls took an 82-72 lead into the final 12 minutes of game action.

Chicago ramped up its energy even higher and extended an already double-digit lead to 20 points at 105-85 on a Rose jumper that capped off a 14-3 stretch. The Bulls never looked back from there.

Game Notes

The Bulls shot 52.4 percent from the floor and made all 19 of their free-throw attempts...The Sixers connected on 52.1 percent of their shots, but made only 16-of-27 free throws...The clubs split four meetings 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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