Jazz start tough stretch in Memphis

Basketball Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis continues a five-game homestand Sunday when it welcomes the struggling Utah Jazz to FedEx Forum.

The Grizzlies improved to 2-1 on the residency Friday when Rudy Gay scored 21 points as Memphis defeated the Indiana Pacers, 98-92.

The Grizzlies had five players in double figures, including 19 points and nine rebounds from Marreese Speights. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each added 15 points apiece for Memphis, which has now won two straight after dropping its previous three.

"I know all the games aren't going to start off like that," Speights said about scoring seven of his team's first 11 points. "I just go out there with a little more energy and try to get on the boards early and start the momentum."

The Jazz, meanwhile, will be trying to halt a three-game skid tonight as they kick off a back-to-back-to-back, three-game road trip. Most recently, Utah fell to West-leading Oklahoma City, 101-87, at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday.

Utah had all five starters in double figures in that one, including 20 points from Al Jefferson. Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward scored 13 points apiece for the Jazz, who have dropped five of their last six overall.

"They [Thunder] played well," said Bell. "They took the game to us. They were aggressive. We got stuck in one mode and were never able to transition into something else to see if it could get going."

Utah, which is just 2-7 on the road this season, will finish its three games in three nights stretch with games in New Orleans and a rematch with the Thunder in OKC.

The Grizz have won three straight at FedEx Forum over Utah and are 9-4 on their home floor this season.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.