Rockets kick off homestand vs. Nets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Houston Rockets making the playoffs seem to fade by the day. Tonight they'll have to get past the woeful New Jersey Nets at the Toyota Center in the opener of a four-game homestand and hope for some help around the league.

The Rockets finished a three-game road trip in positive fashion on Tuesday in Washington when Luis Scola totaled 23 points with 10 rebounds, as Houston held off the Wizards, 96-88.

"Big win for us," said Scola. "We needed this win to go back home and the push for the playoffs."

Kevin Martin chipped in with 21 points, Aaron Brooks totaled 14 and Trevor Ariza added 13 for the Rockets, who have alternated wins and losses over the last eight games and finished the trip, 2-1.

Houston is now 5 1/2 games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with just 19 games to play.

New Jersey is an NBA-worst 7-58 on the season and is trying desperately to avoid finishing with the worst record in NBA history, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73).

The Nets have lost three in a row and fell to 1-3 on a five-game road trip following Friday's 104-102 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant poured in 32 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in that one, his 36th 30-point game this season, breaking Spencer Haywood's franchise mark set from the 1972-73 season.

Devin Harris finished with 19 points and eight assists for the Nets while. Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling chipped in 16 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench.

Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams added 14 points apiece in defeat.

"I like our effort," Harris said. "Just coming down, giving ourselves a chance to win the game in the end. The way we've been starting out...has been a little disheartening, but other than that, I like the way our bench has been coming in and really gotten us back into the game. Second halves have really been key for us."

Houston has taken seven straight from the Nets and will be shooting for a home-and-home series sweep for the fourth consecutive season tonight. New Jersey hasn't beaten the Rockets since a 90-77 triumph at the Toyota Center on March 13, 2006.

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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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