Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in Beantown
Basketball Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the
best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this
afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's
top squad, the Orlando Magic.
The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday
when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer
with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87
win.
Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who
have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07
season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis
had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth
quarter.
"I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first
half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we
thought that we could just outscore them."
Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game
against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury,
will be a game-time decision this afternoon.
The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an
embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in
their last encounter on Friday.
Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31
points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half-
second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision
at Amway Arena.
Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as
21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to
erase the deficit.
In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the
turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but
Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their
fifth home loss this season.
Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in
21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games.
"It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting
ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like
that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater."
Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual
game-winner was well off the mark.
The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts,
who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season
with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward
Kevin Garnett.
This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three
encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in
November.
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Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Bet on NFL Football
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
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