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06/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers are a perfect fit for Hollywood.
The franchise sports a ton of star power. Kobe Bryant is one of the best to ever play the game, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are two of the most skilled big men in today's NBA, and Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in the history of professional sports.
But, if you were looking for the barometer of the Lakers' success, it resides in the backcourt -- next to Bryant.
On paper veteran Derek Fisher is the weak link of the Lakers. It seems like every playoff series that LA is in, the talking heads pontificate about the advantage the opposition has at the point guard position.
It's was no different coming into the NBA Finals. Despite lacking a top-tier, consistent jumper, the ultra-quick Rajon Rondo has turned into the star on a team featuring three future Hall of Famers. Meanwhile, the book on the 35- year-old Fisher says he is just a standstill shooter these days with slow feet that gets beat off the dribble at will by the NBA's quicker guards.
It was almost a "pick your poison" type of decision for Jackson when drawing up the Lakers' defensive strategy. Bryant may be the best on-ball defender in basketball and can move back-and-forth to stifle either Rondo or sharp- shooting two-guard Ray Allen.
Jackson was clearly more concerned with Rondo's ability to get to the rim, and made his decision to place Bryant on Rondo the majority of the time. The mind set worked in Game 1 but blew up badly in the sequel when Allen set an NBA Finals record by sinking eight three-point shots in a 103-94 Game 2 win over the Lakers.
Fisher wasn't responsible for all of Allen's success in that one but he was on the floor when the ball tipped off and was the one responsible for letting Allen explode early.
Fish took Allen's performance personally and responded big in Game 3, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Lakers to a road win and help them recapture home-court advantage in the set.
Fisher, like Bryant, going after his fifth championship ring, made 5-of-7 shots from the field in the final quarter after making just 6-of-21 field goals in the first 132 minutes of the series.
"We saw some things we could accomplish by playing a little two-man game between Kobe and myself," Fisher said. "When Kobe sets a screen, his man is going to be very reluctant to help off of him, so it allows somebody else to get into the interior of their defense, and a couple times I made a pass or two, and a few other times I was able to knock down shots."
As impressive as Fisher's offensive game was in the fourth quarter, it was his defense that really stood out. Allen followed his finals record performance by nearly setting another one for futility.
Allen misfired on all 13 of his shot attempts from the field in Game 3 and had just two points, falling one miss shy Dennis Johnson for worst percentage without a field goal in a finals game. Johnson went 0-for-14 for Seattle against Washington in Game 7 of the 1978 Finals
"You have to understand spots on the floor, where [Allen's] trying to get to get his shots off," Fisher said after his Game 3 performance. "We wanted to pick our spots to get a little bit more pressure, get Kobe a little bit closer to Rajon [Rondo] to take away some of the sharp passing angles where he can get the ball to Ray really fast right in his shooting pocket. And from there it's just trusting that if you keep making him work, he won't necessarily hit 8-of-11 threes every night."
It's easy to poke holes in Fisher's game but scouting reports rarely delve into intangibles. First and foremost, Bryant respects him, going so far to say that Fisher is the only player he will listen to.
"I probably am the only maybe guy he listens to," Fisher said at practice on Wednesday about his relationship with Bryant. "He's married, so I know he listens to somebody else. We've developed a relationship and a level of trust, I think professionally as well as personally, that we respect each other in a way that nothing else comes between that respect."
On the floor, he may be slow but Fisher understands where to be and has built his body up to the point where he can muscle his opposition. On the offensive end, Fisher has ice running through his veins and turns from a detriment to a big-time positive as the clock ticks down. Few players are willing to take more big shots down the stretch of a close game.
That said, the clock is clearly ticking on Fisher's career and he was especially emotional after his Game 3 performance, even breaking down on Boston's WEEI.
"Just being a part of such a big night and being so instrumental in helping our team win. That's really where the emotion came from," Fisher said. "Even though I talk a lot in terms of answering questions and sharing my thoughts about things, I hold in a lot, as well, and so it just all kind of came up. My thoughts about how meaningful it is to be in this position again in my career."
<< Reds send Leake to the hill in finale versus Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An opponent of Cincinnati rookie pitcher Mike Leake said
that you would never know that he didn't play in the minor leagues or that it
was his first year in the majors the way he has performed.
Leake will try to live up to
<< Packers CB Underwood issues apology
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood issued
an apology Wednesday to his teammates for being a distraction in light of
facing possible sexual assault charges stemming from an incident over the
weekend
<< Report: USC to get two-year bowl game ban
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Southern California will
reportedly be slapped with a two-year bowl ban by the NCAA and will also lose
more than 20 football scholarships when violations within the athletics
program
<< Chicago to host parade for Blackhawks Friday
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will celebrate their
Stanley Cup title with a ticker-tape parade in the Windy City on Friday.
The parade will mark the first title for Chicago's four major sports teams
since the
Padres, Mets hope to play two at Citi Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mother Nature played a role in major league baseball last
night and both the Mets and Padres fell victim to rain in the New York area.
Both clubs are slated for a day-night doubleheader Thursday at Citi Field.
The first co
Twins aim for sweep of Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins shoot for their seventh straight win at
home and a three-game sweep of the AL Central-rival Kansas City Royals tonight
in the series finale from Target Field.
The AL Central-leading Twins are coming off
Halladay, Phillies set for perfection rematch with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida's Josh Johnson and Phillies ace Roy Halladay were
able to get an extra day of rest with last night's postponement due to rain,
and will go at it again Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
Wednesday's second contest of t
Santana, Halos aim to stay hot in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana's resurgence over the past month has played
a big part in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's rise back to contention in
the American League's West Division. Considering Santana's history of success
against
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
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Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
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MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
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Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
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