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06/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you use the 20/20 vision that hindsight provides, it's pretty clear why the Los Angeles Lakers lost the 2008 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics -- they got punched in the mouth.
The defensive-minded Celtics were simply far more physical than the Lakers back then and Doc Rivers went into that series with a simple game plan: beat up LA and make someone other than Kobe Bryant win the thing.
The '08 Lakers' frontline, minus the oft-injured Andrew Bynum, was manhandled by Kevin Garnett and Company, and Bryant was double- and triple-teamed every time he touched the ball with the intent of getting it out of his hands.
When Kobe eventually lost confidence in his teammates and put his head down to drive to the basket, he was met by two or three big bodies that weren't shy about handing out a lick or two. The result was Bryant taking contested shot after contested shot and finishing that set shooting just over 40 percent.
Ron Artest was watching.
The eccentric, often outspoken Artest was safely tucked away in Sacramento at the time and his signature grit and toughness wasn't a problem for the Celtics.
A quick trip to south Texas ensued for Artest, where he helped the Houston Rockets advance past the first round of the postseason for the first time in 11 seasons last year. He also happened to get ejected from both Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers for tangling with Bryant and Pau Gasol.
LA went on to win a hard-fought seven-game series against the Rockets and eventually earned their 15th NBA championship. Artest clearly garnered the respect of the organization, however, and the Lakers signed him to a five- year deal worth $33 million with the assumption he would bring the same defensive mindset and intensity to Hollywood.
Whether warranted or not, Western Conference teams are considered more skilled but not as tough as their Eastern Counterparts. You can debate that but the Celtics certainly came into the 2010 NBA Finals with a certain cockiness, thinking they were the harder bunch.
That all changed 27 seconds into the Lakers 102-89 Game 1 win when Artest tangled arms with Boston's top offensive threat, Paul Pierce. Both players hit the hardwood simultaneously and were whistled for a double technical.
"That's not a tone that we want to set," Artest said. "We want to set a tone of basketball. At that point, I was a little emotional and I had a little bit of anxiety at that point, and I was fired up. I would still rather set the tone with basketball."
A very mature and measured response from a player not known for holding back.
In reality, this time it was the Celtics getting smacked in the mouth and Artest was front and center throwing the punch, His physical play most definitely set the tone as the defending- champion Lakers matched Boston's highly-publicized defensive intensity from the first minute to the last.
"My role is to play aggressively and to play good team basketball and to play hard," Artest said. "You play hard, you are tough already."
Your move Boston.
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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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