Sizzling Thunder welcome Lakers to OKC

Basketball Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Basketball fans will receive a nice treat before the NBA All-Star break with tonight's matchup between two of the league's best, as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder play host to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder share the NBA's best record with the Miami Heat at 26-7 and have won 11 in a row at home, where they are 14-1 this season. The Thunder are averaging 107.9 points per game during their home winning streak and last won 12 straight as the host twice under head coach George Karl during the 1997-98 campaign when the team resided in Seattle.

Oklahoma City will wrap up a five-game residency tonight and has won four straight overall and six of seven games, including Wednesday's 119-104 victory over the Boston Celtics thanks to 31 points, six assists and five rebounds from Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant did his part, as usual, with 28 points, nine boards, six assists and four steals for the Thunder, who made 50 percent of their shots and scored 24 points off 18 Boston turnovers.

"I thought in the first half we moved the ball extremely well," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "In the second half, we got the big lead and got a little sloppy."

Sloppy or not, the Thunder own a comfortable lead atop the Northwest Division standings and got 17 points apiece from James Harden and Daequan Cook. In Brooks' defense, his team almost blew a 26-point lead to New Orleans on Monday before watching a 27-point advantage vanish versus the Celtics. Westbrook has been on fire over his last three games, averaging 34 ppg.

After hosting the Lakers in OKC, the Thunder will kick off a three-game road trip through Philadelphia, Orlando and Atlanta after the break.

Los Angeles has been dealing with off-the-court issues lately with trade rumors and players-only meetings, but that hasn't stopped the team from winning two straight and five of six games.

On a night Bryant struggled for 15 points on 4-of-15 shooting, Pau Gasol -- the subject of those trade rumors -- picked up the slack in last night's 96-91 win at Dallas with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

"I thought our guys did a nice job of executing down the stretch," said Lakers coach Mike Brown. "I feel like offensively we're getting a little better, but right now our end of game execution isn't quite where I want."

Andrew Bynum finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher added 15 points for Los Angeles, which is one game behind the Clippers for Pacific Division supremacy. The Lakers didn't get a chance to play against former forward Lamar Odom due to a family issue. Odom was dealt to the defending NBA champion Mavericks in the offseason.

The Lakers are just 6-11 as the guest this season and will begin a three-game homestand versus the Timberwolves, Kings and Heat after the All-Star break. They took two of three meetings from Oklahoma City a year ago and have won 14 of the past 16 meetings between the teams.

LA is facing a dangerous Thunder team on the road, however, but has prevailed in seven of the previous eight matchups as the visitor in this series.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.