Jazz visit Thunder in key Western Conference matchup

Basketball Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the Western Conference's top teams jockey for playoff position in Oklahoma City Sunday as Kevin Durant and the Thunder welcome the Utah Jazz to town.

The Jazz are currently the fourth seed in the jumbled West, 1 1/2 games ahead of No. 5 Oklahoma City.

Utah fell to 2-1 on a four-game road trip Friday in Milwaukee when John Salmons scored 24 points and hit a pair of important free throws with less than 20 seconds to go, as the Bucks continued an impressive homestand with a 95-87 win over the Jazz.

Carlos Boozer paced the Jazz with 26 points and 14 boards before being ejected in the final seconds, and Utah had a four-game win streak snapped. Mehmet Okur contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, and C.J. Miles had 17 points in a reserve role.

Deron Williams scored 11 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed six boards for Utah.

"They made us hurry on a couple things, they forced us out on the floor," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said of the Bucks. "They did a great job, they played extremely well and they made the shots they had to win the ball game."

Utah played most of the second half against the Bucks without forward Andrei Kirilenko, who strained his left calf, while Williams aggravated a left shoulder injury.

Kirilenko is questionable for tonight's game but Williams is expected to play for Utah, which hasn't lost back-to-back games since a three-game losing streak from Dec. 31-Jan. 4.

The Thunder, meanwhile, were a bit lackadaisical in their last affair but came out on top of a 104-102 decision over the hapless New Jersey Nets on Friday. Kevin Durant poured in 32 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in that one.

Durant's 30-point game was his 36th this season, breaking Spencer Haywood's franchise mark set from the 1972-73 season.

Jeff Green had a season-high 27 points to go with six rebounds for the Thunder, who have won four in a row overall. Russell Westbrook tallied 11 points and 10 assists. Nenad Krstic and Nick Collison each registered 10 points for Oklahoma City, which has also won five straight on its home floor.

"He's unstoppable," Durant said of Green. "He's so strong going to the basket, he can shoot the three. He has one of the best pump-fakes in the game, so that allows him to get to the rim as well. He's so athletic too, so he did a great job of getting us going early today."

The Thunder have won both games against the Jazz so far this season, including an 87-86 thriller on Dec. 31 at the Ford Center.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

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Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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