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03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The bottom two teams of the Atlantic Division will go head- to-head for the final time of the 2009-10 campaign this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the homestanding 76ers aim for a season sweep of the dismal New Jersey Nets.
Both clubs enter tonight's clash mired in five-game losing streaks, with the Sixers suffering their 10th defeat in 11 outings with Monday's 94-84 home setback to the New York Knicks.
Philadelphia saw an 11-point halftime lead evaporate in their latest loss after being outscored 29-14 by the Knicks in the third quarter. The 76ers shot a woeful 27.3 percent from the field in the second half and just 38.4 percent for the game.
"You get open shots and just can't make it," said Philadelphia head coach Eddie Jordan afterward. "That was the story of the game for me."
Jrue Holiday was one bright spot for the Sixers, with the rookie logging 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert each posted double-doubles in a losing cause, with Iguodala amassing 14 points and 17 rebounds and Dalembert finishing with 11 points and 18 boards.
Philadelphia played Monday's contest without second-leading scorer Louis Williams due to back spasms, while forward Thaddeus Young fractured his right thumb in the loss and will be sidelined indefinitely. Williams, who's averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists this season, will be a game-time decision for tonight's tilt.
Even short-handed, the 76ers figure to have a solid chance of stopping their current slide, considering they've won all three previous meetings with the lowly Nets in 2009-10. In addition, New Jersey is an NBA-worst 7-59 for the season and owns a brutal 4-31 mark on the road.
The Nets' struggles continued last night in East Rutherford, where the league doormats were dealt a 108-84 defeat by Atlanta. New Jersey shot just 38.5 percent as a team and played without standout guard Devin Harris, who sat out because of a upper respiratory infection that is expected to force him to miss tonight's game as well.
"We've sustained runs before in previous road trips since the All-Star break," said center Brook Lopez, who led New Jersey with 21 points. "We just didn't do that tonight."
Forward Josh Boone racked up 13 points and a career-high 20 rebounds against the Hawks and has averaged 8.8 boards in five games since replacing the injured Yi Jianlian (sprained left ankle) in the starting lineup.
The Nets, whose three losses to the Sixers this season have all been by four points or fewer, have prevailed in two of their last three visits to the Wachovia Center.
<< Knicks make a stop in Boston for St. Patrick's Day
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics are closing in on their third straight
Atlantic Division title and will face another inferior opponent tonight on St.
Patrick's Day against the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
Boston rebounded from a loss
<< Thunder kick off road trip in Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's still plenty of wiggle room left for the Oklahoma
City Thunder to move up in the Western Conference standings. A lengthy winning
streak usually helps, as the Thunder shoot for a sixth straight win tonight
against the
<< Redskins sign QB Grossman
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed
quarterback Rex Grossman.
Grossman has seven years of NFL experience, and spent last season with
Houston in a backup role. He played in one game, complet
<< Blackhawks limp into Honda Center to battle Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has had a hard enough time picking up victories in
Anaheim without having injuries to worry about. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks
could be without as many as four key skaters tonight when they visit the
Honda Center to t
Road-weary Pacers try to fix issues in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An Indiana Pacers team that's had its share of troubles on
the road will face another tough challenge in tonight's visit to Quicken Loans
Arena for a bout with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pacers have lost eigh
Raptors return home to face Hawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to hold on to a playoff berth that's beginning to
slip away, the Toronto Raptors return to the Air Canada Centre this evening
for an important matchup with an Atlanta Hawks team that figures to be without
its lea
Rockets to host Grizzlies in key conference clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a virtual must-win situation for a pair of Western
Conference teams in desperation mode tonight as the Houston Rockets host the
Memphis Grizzlies at the Toyota Center.
Historically the Grizzlies haven't had a lot of s
Jazz seeking to extend Timberwolves' season-long misery >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a potential mismatch on the NBA docket, the Western
Conference power Utah Jazz welcome the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves to Salt
Lake City tonight.
The Jazz, who are currently the fourth seed in the West, snapped a rare
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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