Mavs hit the road to Cleveland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps a change of scenery will bring different results for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who will commence a three- game road trip tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Mavericks lost both tests of a recent two-game homestand versus the Thunder and Pacers, and dropped a 98-87 decision to Indiana last night. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 30 points and seven rebounds, while Vince Carter contributed 14 points and five assists.

"I had some good looks and knocked them down. I finally got into a good rhythm. The strength in my legs is coming back. Hard work always pays off," Nowitzki said.

Jason Terry added 10 points off the bench for the Mavs, who have endured consecutive losses since winning three straight and six of seven games. Dallas guard Jason Kidd missed his fourth consecutive game because of a strained right calf. He is expected to miss Saturday's game at Cleveland.

Dallas will also visit the Nuggets and Timberwolves on the trip and is 5-5 away from home this season. The Mavs sit just one game behind San Antonio for the top spot in the Southwest Division.

Cleveland has lost two straight, three of four and seven of its last nine games, including Friday's 102-94 setback at Orlando.

Alonzo Gee scored a career-high 20 points and rookie Kyrie Irving had 18 for Cleveland, which made 36.7 percent of its shots and lost despite having a 57-45 advantage on the glass. Antawn Jamison added 16 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort.

"I don't know what we have to do as far as trying to bring that same rhythm that we had in the fourth quarter to the first quarter, but we'll figure it out," said Cleveland head coach Byron Scott.

Scott's team was coming off a home-and-home split with Boston. It is 3-5 at home this season and will play 10 of the next 11 games at the Q. The Cavs were without guards Daniel Gibson (neck) and Anthony Parker (back) and forward Tristan Thompson (ankle) on Friday. They're questionable for this evening.

Cleveland and Dallas are meeting for the first time since the Mavs swept a home-and-home set a year ago. The Mavericks have won three straight and six of 10 meetings with the Cavs.

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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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Points (or Runs) Scored

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.

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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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Types of Bets

Straight Bet

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.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

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Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

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