Heat host Raptors in matinee affair

Basketball Betting Lines

02/05/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh said a few days ago it's important for this team to make the essential adjustments following a loss.

"If we lose one or two, we need to make the necessary adjustments, get it done and cut that down," Bosh told the Miami Herald. "That's the next step."

Bosh, his teammates and the coaching staff aired their grievances and offered suggestions on what they can do to make this team better after blowing a lead against Milwaukee in Wednesday's 105-97 loss. The meeting of the minds worked in a big win at Philadelphia Friday night and the Heat look to build off of that triumph in a Super Bowl matinee this afternoon versus Toronto. The New England Patriots will face the New York Giants tonight in Super Bowl XLVI.

The Heat are back in south Florida following their two-day sojourn and will host both the Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Winners in nine of their last 11 games, the Heat recorded a 99-79 victory over the pesky 76ers at a packed Wells Fargo Center and were led by Dwyane Wade's 26 points. LeBron James turned in another solid performance with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which used a 27-8 run to start the fourth quarter and outscored the Sixers by a 32-16 margin in the final stanza.

"The most important thing is that this team improved in 48 hours," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This was a very good team win against a very good team that has been playing well."

Mario Chalmers and Bosh scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Mike Miller also had 12 points and Norris Cole added 11 in the win. The Heat shot 51.9 percent and aim for a fifth straight win at home Sunday. They are 10-2 as the host and own a 1 1/2-game lead over Atlanta for the top spot in the Southeast Division. Miami is 12-3 versus the Eastern Conference this season and sports a 5-0 mark against Atlantic Division inhabitants. It has won nine in a row against teams from that division during the regular season.

A win today for the Heat would match their best 24-game start to a season since an 18-6 ledger in both the 1996-97 and 1998-99 campaigns. Another victory would also put them a season-high 12 games above the .500 mark. James is the best candidate to make that happen and is the only player in the NBA to average at least 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game. He has posted at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 straight games, and only one other player in league history has registered those numbers in at least that many contests. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson turned the trick on three other occasions.

Robertson, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996, had a 26-game streak in the 1962-63 season and two years later accomplished the feat in a league-best 29 consecutive contests (1964-65). "The Big O" had a 25-gamer in the 1963-64 season.

Meanwhile, the Raptors have won four of their last seven games since a grueling eight-game losing streak and will play back-to-back road games against Miami and Washington. They are just 5-10 away from home this season.

Toronto is coming off of Friday's 106-89 win over the Wizards at Air Canada Centre, as Leandro Barbosa scored a team-best 19 points and Amir Johnson posted 18 points and 13 rebounds. Barbosa was able to shake off flu-like symptoms and missed the team's shootaround.

"It feels good, it was a breakout game for me," Johnson said. "I talked to coach, he told me just to be patient and just play."

James Johnson netted 13 points and Jose Calderon collected eight and a game- high 17 assists for the Raptors, who had a lopsided 61-37 advantage in rebounds and bounced back from a 100-64 loss at Boston on Wednesday. The 61 boards were a franchise record in regulation. Toronto had 65 rebounds in an overtime game against New York back on March 21, 1999.

Toronto's bench scored a season-high 68 points against Washington. The team can match their road win total of last season (6) with an improbable triumph Sunday against the Heat. Raptors center Andrea Bargnani missed his 11th game of the season with a nagging calf injury. Toronto is 2-9 without Bargnani, who is out indefinitely and leads the team with 23.5 points in 13 games.

The Raptors lost all four meetings with the Heat last season and are winless in the previous five contests in this series. Toronto has also lost four straight and nine of 12 trips to south Florida. Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan is averaging 16.0 points in seven career games against Miami, while James is posting 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 28 career matchups with Toronto. Wade is averaging 27.5 ppg in 21 career games in this series.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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