Stoudemire deals with tragedy as Knicks host Jazz

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz haven't fared so well lately in the Big Apple and hope to reverse those fortunes tonight against a shorthanded New York Knicks team at historic Madison Square Garden.

Amare Stoudemire will miss tonight's game as he deals with a tragedy. According to Florida Highway Patrol, the brother of the Knicks star died in a car accident early Monday morning and Stoudemire is traveling to Florida to be with his family.

Losers in six of seven trips to the Empire State, the Jazz split a home-and- home set with the Knicks last season and have won four of the last five matchups in this series. Tonight's contest will be the lone meeting between Knicks and Jazz this season.

Utah will play two straight and five of its next six games on the road and has dropped two in a row away from Salt Lake City. It is 2-5 as the guest this season -- a major dropoff from an 11-4 record at home. The Jazz ended a two- game slide and won for the third time in five tries with Saturday's 96-87 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. Al Jefferson scored 18 points and Paul Millsap added 16, with both players grabbing 13 boards for the Jazz, who got 12 points from both Josh Howard and Derrick Favors.

Jazz reserve guard Earl Watson posted eight points and 11 assists and showed no ill effects of a sprained left ankle that kept him out of Thursday's loss at Golden State.

"Earl Watson isn't even supposed to be playing right now, that's the crazy thing about it," Millsap said. "He's out there on one leg, having an amazing game for us. He's big for us."

The Jazz hope to improve on their 4-1 record against the East tonight.

New York is only 1-7 against teams from the Western Conference and looks to build on that with a loaded home schedule over the next few games.

The Knicks are in the midst of playing 10 of 14 games at MSG and are coming off of Saturday's 99-92 triumph over New Jersey courtesy of a surprise performance from second-year guard Jeremy Lin. The Harvard product scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and also collected seven assists and five rebounds. New York had dropped 11 of 13 games before edging the Nets.

"It's one game, so don't get too excited," said Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni. "But it was something we needed."

Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler scored 17 points apiece, while Carmelo Anthony had just 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting for the Knicks, who are 5-7 at home this season and pushed their overall record to 9-15. Anthony had scored 25 or more points in each of the three previous games.

Landry Fields had just six points in Saturday's win, but is averaging 12.9 points in his last 11 games.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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