Allen's sweet stroke saves Celtics

Basketball Betting Lines

06/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is nothing more deflating for an NBA team than watching a great shooter get a good look from the three-point line.

The ball comes off the hand and almost seems frozen in time for a second or two before splashing through the net, never touching the cylinder.

It's an almost helpless feeling.

At some point in the NBA Finals, you knew the Boston Celtics were going to exploit a mismatch in the backcourt.

Kobe Bryant may be the best on-ball defender in professional basketball but the aging Derek Fisher was going to have trouble matching up with either Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen.

As one of the best shooters in the history of the game, a date with Bryant's torturous defense used to be a virtual guarantee for Allen, but the emergence of Rondo has made things difficult for Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

It's almost a "pick your poison" type of decision for Jackson. Kobe can stifle just about anyone but if you put him on Rondo, Allen is going to get a lot of open looks. Shut down Ray's outside shooting, and you open up the lane for Rondo's penetration.

Jackson was clearly more concerned with Rondo's ability to get to the rim, and made his decision to place Bryant on Rondo in Game 1.

"Teams have done that all year," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "It's nothing new putting a big guy on Rondo and a small guy on Ray. And every time we do that we feel we can give Ray shots."

Jackson's roll of the dice worked and the Lakers earned a rather emphatic Game 1 victory as Allen struggled with foul trouble and was unable to take advantage of the 6-foot-1 Fisher's spotty defense.

"The other night was frustrating," Allen said of Game 1 "It was tough just trying to adjust the referees on the sideline. Physically I felt great. I was getting to the spots I needed to, just never really got in a great rhythm."

The NBA playoffs are all about adjustments between contests. Jackson stood pat in Game 2 and Rivers made sure his team understood what went wrong, reminding his players there was a significant mismatch to exploit. The result was Allen setting an NBA Finals record by sinking eight three-point shots in a 103-94 Game 2 win over the Lakers.

"I'm trying not to do too much," Allen said when describing Rivers' game plan. "Getting Fisher, run him off screens and forcing their bigs to help. That's somewhat the thought process. Making a hard cut from one side of the basket to the other."

Allen made his first seven from long range in the first half of Game 2 on the way to an incredible 27-point effort by halftime, boosting the Celtics to a 54-48 advantage.

"I thought they (Lakers) did everything they could to keep me from shooting threes and they worked tirelessly," Allen said. "We were setting great screens and I was getting to my spots."

The Lakers adjusted their defense on Allen after the first half but the damage was done. A deflated Celtics team was rejuvenated and able to take advantage of Bryant's own foul trouble to hold off LA.

"He was unbelievable," Pierce said of Allen. "He just came out here and shot lights out. You could tell he was frustrated from the last game because of the foul trouble and I think he showed us that Ray Allen is a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest shooters to ever play."

Allen canned the record breaker with 4:40 left in the third quarter, helping Boston even the best-of-seven series and seize home-court advantage. He finished the game with 32 points, going 8-of-11 from three-point range, breaking the mark he shared with Houston's Kenny Smith (1995) and Chicago's Scottie Pippen (1997).

"I don't know what record it is that people are telling me that I got, but it's great to have," Allen said after the game. "Great to be able to look back on it and say I did that. This is definitely the time. There is no better place, moment or time to play a game, to win a game than the finals."

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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