Mr. Lin goes to Washington

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity has officially hit New York.

Tonight Jeremy Lin tries to continue his amazing play when the New York Knicks go after a third straight win against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

After netting 25 points and seven assists on Saturday, Lin again dazzled in his first start on Monday, scoring 28 points with eight assists - both career- highs - to lead the undermanned Knicks past the Utah Jazz, 99-88.

"I just have nothing but gratitude and thankfulness right now," said Lin. "This one was ugly and we lost a couple of players, but this team has a lot of will."

Lin's heroics were unexpected but necessary, as Amare Stoudemire missed the game following the tragic death of his brother, while Carmelo Anthony left the game just minutes into the contest with a strained groin.

Stoudemire will again miss tonight's contest, while Anthony was re-evaluated on Tuesday and will miss 1-to-2 weeks.

"We're going to have to create our own energy, and with Amare and Melo out we're going to have to play together and we're going to have rough stretches," Lin said. "But we're going to have to play gutsy and ugly at times to get the win.

"You can't replace [Anthony]. We're going to have to have people step up, and it's going to have to be everyone. It's not going to be one person scoring 20 points. It's going to be two points here and two points there. Everyone's going to have to do a little bit extra. Obviously we don't have that same star power right now."

Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, may have been the one bringing Madison Square Garden to its feet, but he wasn't the only unheralded contributor on Monday. Seldom used Steve Novak totaled 19 points in a reserve role, while Jared Jeffries added 13 points and Bill Walker had 11.

"You never know who can step up. It only takes one guy to step up and all of a sudden everything turns and I think that's the way we're feeling around here now," center Tyson Chandler said. "Jeremy stepped up and put guys back in their natural positions and all of a sudden our offense is flowing."

An undrafted point guard from Harvard, Lin spent some time with Golden State last year before being released by the Warriors this summer. He was also cut loose by the Houston Rockets prior to the start of the year before catching on with the Knicks.

"I'm riding him like freakin' Secretariat," head coach Mike D'Antoni said of his new point guard.

The Knicks, though, are still just 10-15 on the year and a mere 4-8 on the road. New York returns home to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday before hitting the road again to face both Minnesota and Toronto.

Washington, meanwhile, enters on a rare winning note after topping the Raptors in overtime on Monday. John Wall scored a game-high 31 points and the Wizards held on for a 111-108 win.

"We just kind of fell in line behind him," said Wizards head coach Randy Wittman about Wall's play. "That is as good a game that I've had with him that he's played on both ends of the floor."

Washington got season-high point totals from Nick Young (29) and Trevor Booker (19) as the Wizards snapped a four-game skid and got revenge for a 106-89 loss to Toronto on Friday.

The victory was the first in five games for the Wizards, who lost to the Knicks back in early January in D.C. In fact New York has won seven straight and 11 of the last 13 in the series.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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